Import duties and taxes for Consoles, games etc.

Edelweiss

Edelweiss

New member
So I'm a total noob when it comes to buying things from overseas, I've never done it before. I'm sure some of you mygamers are quite experienced when it comes to this kinda thing and do it regularly.

Can any of you experienced online shoppers please shed some invaluable insight into importing games, consoles etc from overseas? What exactly are the costs involved? Import duties and taxes etc. It would be greatly appreciated if you could shed some light on this and warn me about common mistakes and things to make sure about/watch out for etc.
 
if you import games just ask the seller to label the package as optical media or Digital disc (which is vaguely as light description of what it actually is) and to mark it as a gift and 90% of the time you dont pay a cent on custom duties

with consoles they usually just add 14% vat if you where to collect it at customs, i imported a graphics card once from germany and it came in a gevaarlike big box and i didnt have to pay a cent at customs which was suprising ;)
 
Edelweiss said:
So I'm a total noob when it comes to buying things from overseas, I've never done it before. I'm sure some of you mygamers are quite experienced when it comes to this kinda thing and do it regularly.

Can any of you experienced online shoppers please shed some invaluable insight into importing games, consoles etc from overseas? What exactly are the costs involved? Import duties and taxes etc. It would be greatly appreciated if you could shed some light on this and warn me about common mistakes and things to make sure about/watch out for etc.
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I import games and DVD's via amazon and pay VAT on it at the post office when I collect it, I never used UPS/FedEX as the speed to deliver vs. cost was way too high.

Just a bit of a heads up. If you buy it overseas some local suppliers will not value the warranty of said products, it may be cheaper to import but sometimes the effort to get it replaced/repaired is too much as opposed to playing a little bit extra to have the insurance.
 
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Dohc-WP said:
if you import games just ask the seller to label the package as optical media or Digital disc (which is vaguely as light description of what it actually is) and to mark it as a gift and 90% of the time you dont pay a cent on custom duties

with consoles they usually just add 14% vat if you where to collect it at customs, i imported a graphics card once from germany and it came in a gevaarlike big box and i didnt have to pay a cent at customs which was suprising ;)
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Computer components don't have import duties, only importation vat
 
Electronics generally don't have duties added on but they will charge you VAT if the item is labelled properly or customs open it.
 
Why does labelling something correctly come with a VAT penalty?? :/ As opposed to shoddy labelling being VAT free?
Am I not understanding something here?
 
Edelweiss said:
Why does labelling something correctly come with a VAT penalty?? :/ As opposed to shoddy labelling being VAT free?
Am I not understanding something here?
Click to expand...

Well if they label a computer that costs R10000 as one that only costs R1000, then you will pay much less VAT than if they calculated it as the proper price.

As a side note, I have found customs always charges me VAT and/or duties from stuff coming from USA, but I order a lot of stuff from china and never get charged a cent.
 
Also, if they don't label something properly, customs may detain the package until you send them an invoice for it. I had this problem recently and they didn't tell me they detained it; I had to mission to find out what to do.
 
Pooky said:
Well if they label a computer that costs R10000 as one that only costs R1000, then you will pay much less VAT than if they calculated it as the proper price.

As a side note, I have found customs always charges me VAT and/or duties from stuff coming from USA, but I order a lot of stuff from china and never get charged a cent.
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China? Lol Personally I'd avoid china like the plague after all the stories of fake merchandise being bought there.

Thanks again pooky :)
 
Technically they should charge VAT on all imports on the customs value + 10%. However I think China gets a free ride since the ANC is bending over backwards to get into bed with them.

The restriction here though is on home consumption since a business can claim the VAT input.
 
MissileToe said:
Glordit said:
I import games and DVD's via amazon and pay VAT on it at the post office when I collect it, I never used UPS/FedEX as the speed to deliver vs. cost was way too high.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that Amazon blacklisted SAPO some time ago?
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Yes they did but the cheapest UPS option is way too pricey. They use they Royal mail service to send it to S.A, never had problems recieving my items.

Also note, postage can become costly depending on the size, weight and quantity. I will pay 3x as much to get A4 sized paperback than a DVD set.
 
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