Post-Brexit postage of an amplifier to the Netherlands. HELP!!!

[proy900]

Hi all,

After having the support band blow up my Darkglass M900 V1, which is out of warranty, I need to post it to a place in the Netherlands for repair which was recommended by the guys at Darkglass.

I cannot for the life of me work out what form, code, docket etc to use to not get shafted with import/export VAT etc. The repairing company have already told me that if the paperwork is not in order it will get returned without any further assistance.

 

Has anyone else had to suffer this, and could you point me in the right direction/ hold my hand, please?

 

Ta

[Hellzero]

Calling @Steve Browning !

 

I've done it the other way a few times, there's a lot of papers to fill, but you won't have to pay any exporting and importing taxes.

[chyc]

I can only over a cautionary tale. I took a broken item, £150 to the Post Office to get it fixed in Germany. I was assured that there would be no customs to pay the other end as it was for the repair of a faulty item, despite me insuring it for the full amount.

 

Fast forward a week, and the company the other side had 15EUR to pay for the privilege of picking up my item.

 

As an aside, Supernova lights are absolutely amazing. They absorbed the cost, fixed the 10 year old light and returned it without a quibble.

[Downunderwonder]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-outward-processing-to-process-or-repair-your-goods ain't duckduckgogo grand.

[Downunderwonder]

From another of the links:

 

''Did you export this under Outward Processing Relief? OPR is usually used for the export of items for repair which will be returned after repair.

If OPR has been used then there will not be a problem with re-importing the goods free of import duty and tax. If a fee has been charged for the repair then duty and tax will be payable on this value.''

Pretty much sums up what to do at your end to get it away. Get the OPR.

 

Then your reimportation should be a matter of them quoting the OPR on the other end docket along with detailed notes of your payments for repair and shipping. Check with the repair people.

[onehandclapping]

I sent a gift of a small guitar part to a friend in Denmark,it took about 2 mths to get there,marked “gift “ value $10 AUD,my friend got a bill of $1 and a charge of $35 to get it

[Steve Browning]

Just seen this.

 

Yes. There should be no taxes under outward processing relief. I will look into it and report back. 

[Steve Browning]

I think you need to complete the form on the attached link. This is not a process I have had to follow myself so I will happily defer to anyone with actual experience. Let me know if you have any problems and I'll see how I can help.

 

https://public-online.hmrc.gov.uk/lc/content/xfaforms/profiles/forms.html?contentRoot=repository:///Applications/SpecPersTax_A/1.0/SP4&template=SP4.xdp

Edited August 19, 2021 by Steve Browning

[proy900]

6 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-outward-processing-to-process-or-repair-your-goods ain't duckduckgogo grand.

What? … Jesus-frigging-Christ, what the hell is all this nonsense?!?

I thought I was confused before, but our own government’s website  shows there’s always another rabbit hole to fall down.

 

the way I see it is:

1. Get on a plane with it to the Netherlands and sleep on the doorstep until the amp has been fixed

2. Find someone in the UK to repair it

3. Accept I have a very expensive doorstop

[Downunderwonder]

29 minutes ago, proy900 said:

What? … Jesus-frigging-Christ, what the hell is all this nonsense?!?

I thought I was confused before, but our own government’s website  shows there’s always another rabbit hole to fall down.

 

the way I see it is:

1. Get on a plane with it to the Netherlands and sleep on the doorstep until the amp has been fixed

2. Find someone in the UK to repair it

3. Accept I have a very expensive doorstop

If you follow the appropriate links from the helpful post above yours you land on that page! Suck it up buttercup, you're dealing with a beaurocratic hydra but c'est la vie. Once you have printed off your OPR you have chopped its nuts off and it will comply.

[proy900]

Maybe I'm just more of an idiot that I previously thought, but I cannot for the life of me work out how to get OPR form without needing an EORI number which I can't get because I'm not a business...

[Hellzero]

As I wrote, I've done a few times the other way, from Belgium, where I'm living, to the USA and Canada for repair purposes. Once all the documents are filled and that it's done the same way for the return, it's a hassle free operation.

 

But bureaucracy meaning a delirious amount of paper, just play their game and everything will be fine.

 

Also ask the the repair center for an RMA (Return Marchandise Authorisation/Agreement) number with the reason for it stated as this will be the first proof that it is indeed a repair.

[Hellzero]

Do call the Customs to explain your issue as a private person, so not needing any business authorisation : they will be very helpful.

[Steve Browning]

1 minute ago, Hellzero said:

Do call the Customs to explain your issue as a private person, so not needing any business authorisation : they will be very helpful.

This. The enemy of any tax query is the 'man in the pub'. Ask the people that deal with this all the time. The form does state a private individual doesn't need an EORI number.

 

HMRC folk are not trying to catch you out.

[Downunderwonder]

11 minutes ago, proy900 said:

Maybe I'm just more of an idiot that I previously thought, but I cannot for the life of me work out how to get OPR form without needing an EORI number which I can't get because I'm not a business...

If you read it carefully it says only businesses require one but they don't make a point of it.

[ambient]

Have you spoken to the UK distributor to see if there’s a UK based repairer they can recommend?

[proy900]

Reviving this old post as part-penance, part-information sharing

 

To paraphrase the saying:
Good things come to those who... give up trying to fix something and leave it in a corner until they speak to a guy at the gym.

Having not got anywhere with the red tape involved in posting an item for repair to the Netherlands, and briefly sticking my head above the parapet a couple years later with another request to Darkglass support to which they couldn't help as the model wasn't produced anymore so no stock to repair was available, it turned out in the end that the answer was staring me in the face for years... another persons face in fact!
 

As it happens a fellow gym-goer's father is a retired electronics engineer who mastered in sound engineering (or something like that) and likes to tinker with old amps, speakers etc in his now perpetual free-time.

 

After four painful years of having to stare at a very expensive doorstop this chap spent 10 minutes looking over the board, 2 minutes googling, and told me to buy this > ICEPower-700

Exactly the same board as is in the V1 MT900, just available from somewhere else. Popped the blown one out, fitted the new one in, and gave it a go.

So happy to say it hasn't skipped a beat since it got fixed. Performs just the way it always did - although it now plays second fiddle to the V2 MT900 which is in the main rig I always make a point of running the V1 for a good portion of a rehearsal just to make sure it can keep up and that there's no other issues waiting in the wings from it's previous idiot-borne demise. Double bonus is that the new board comes with a 2 year guarantee!

 

Hopefully, if someone else is unfortunate enough to have suffered a similar issue they might happen across this thread and find the information useful.