The costs imposed by the country into which we import goods are generally referred to as "duties" and are composed of various taxes for different purposes and destinations. In general, duties for a move consist of two taxes: VAT and customs duties. VAT is a consumptive tax and is 22% in Italy and 20% in the United Kingdom. Customs duties are a tax designed to protect domestic producers and are applied to control the influx of foreign products into the country. Each item has an associated duty based on evaluations made by the country's economists and determined by its own political and economic needs. It's up to the customs broker and customs officials to calculate duties and taxes for each shipment. While most moves are eligible for duty-free importation, some are not. In these cases, you simply have to pay the duties. When duties must be applied, a more in-depth dialogue is established between the customs broker and the customs officer assigned to the shipment. This amount is not contestable. In general, duties range between 8% and 13%; however, it's important to underline that this estimate doesn't apply to items like motorcycles, cars, or high-value paintings, which are subject to different mechanisms and can vary between £500 and £3,000 or more.

All customs offices have the right to scrutinize a particular shipment through inspections. The simplest form is the "documentary inspection," where customs take a moment to examine a case more closely. Other inspections can be more in-depth, using X-rays, an external visual assessment, or a physical examination to verify that the contents match the documentation. While inspections are rare, they do come with a cost. In most cases, Bolliger UK tends to cover them directly without charging the client anything. Usually, there's no specific reasons for inspections, but items from countries like Colombia are more likely to be examined.

The United Kingdom fundamentally follows criteria similar to Italy's for determining duty-free eligibility or assessing duties. The biggest difference concerns establishing residency, as the United Kingdom doesn't have a Certificate of Residence. To allow the British government to determine your duty-free eligibility, fill out the ToR form. Once you complete the application, operators will evaluate the request. If successful, they'll issue you a ToR or Transfer of Residence. You must give this number to your movers, and they'll use it in the documentation for duty-free importation. Without the ToR number, without exception, you can't use duty-free importation. It's possible to initiate email communication with the operators responsible for evaluating the ToR if you wish to contest the decision, but they rarely change their minds. So you'll want to fill out the online form with the utmost accuracy. For further explanations and guides, click here. Note that only the client, not the movers, can fill out this form, and it's not necessary to choose a mover before completing it. You should fill out the ToR application as soon as possible since it could take up to 4 weeks to receive a response.Generally, you'll get an email reply within a week, but the system could take up to 3 weeks in periods of high demand or slowdowns. The ToR number is valid for 12 months from issuance, so the expiration risk is minimal. An important note: if the client intends to obtain a ToR number, a serious mover will not start the shipment until it's received. If, for any reason, the ToR office should delay and the shipment is already en route, you could incur payment of customs duties. To avoid this, just plan ahead and spare yourself the trouble. Naturally, if you urgently need to receive your goods and decide that waiting for the ToR number is not convenient, you are fully free to do so; just inform the movers, who will adjust accordingly.

It's rare, but there are situations where it can be economically advantageous for the customer to recover VAT on purchases made shortly before moving. When making a significant purchase, if the store has an EORI number (which not all stores have), you can inform them that these goods are intended for export and request an invoice. The invoice must meet the following requirements: It must be addressed to the individual whose name the move will be registered It must be addressed to the foreign destination address of the move The invoice must contain the store's EORI number With this invoice, the mover can handle a separate customs operation by generating an MRN code, which is provided to the customer by the mover and then passed on to the store. Then, the store will refund the VAT paid to the customer at the time of purchase. It's important to emphasize that every customs operation has a cost. In the case of Bolliger UK, it's £200 (£100 for export formalities and £100 for import formalities). So, if the VAT savings don't exceed £200, the operation might not be worthwhile. ​ Reminder: The moving company is not obliged to interact with the store. The moving company can only handle the customs operation and provide the MRN number upon completion. VAT has to be paid somewhere, so you must pay VAT to obtain a VAT refund. Each invoice presented to customs requires a separate customs operation with its own cost. If you visit the same store twice and obtain two invoices, these will be considered two separate invoices. Therefore, the cost of customs formalities will be double. In countries where the VAT rates are similar, this procedure may not be advantageous, but when the VAT in the country of origin is significantly higher than the VAT in the destination country, you could save substantially.

While there is an agreement that avoids the application of duties on goods produced in the UK and Europe, it isn't applicable to personal effects belonging to private individuals. This duty exemption only applies to: Goods that have been entirely produced in the UK or Europe Goods accompanied by official certification attesting they were produced in Europe or the UK Unfortunately, due to the complexities of proving the factors above, this agreement between the UK and Europe does not apply to moves.

When evaluating different options for their move, many people realize that shipping a vehicle involves a cost, so it's not unusual for them to decide to take the opportunity to travel through Europe with their own car. However, you need to be careful. The ACI (in Italy) or the DVLA (in England) will require the customs document of the vehicle to register it in the destination country and obtain the relevant license plates. You can't simply cross the border in the tourist lane; you'll need to stop at a customs office and declare the import of the car, carrying out a proper customs procedure. You'll do this once in the country of origin and once in the country of destination. We at Bolliger UK do not handle vehicle registrations, as there are many specialized agencies that deal solely with this.