Import TAX of kit's sent to UK

Un till this has changed, I have to say I will not take part in RoadTest's from now on.

Is that a promise or a threat? I understand your frustration, but $25 - $30 for a FREE item worth $100.00+ IMHO is worth it.

As a suggestion to element14, when I ship overseas I ship with a $1.00 value.

Obviously I loose the part if something happens, but after 7 years I haven't lost an item yet.

In many countries, incorrectly stating the value of an imported item is considered to be committing fraud, though I haven't seen many prosecutions on this front.

I'm not sure if the UK allows  genuine samples to be durty/VAT free, but if they do then maybe that would be one way around the problem to declare them as samples.

As the samples come direct from the promoting company (always seems to be the US at the moment) maybe a rider should be placed on the roadTest page stating import duties and local taxes might need to be paid.

Most competition prizes are subject to taxes in receiving countries, and someone somewhere has to pay them. I suspect that whilst it would be possible for a promoter to allocate extra funds on top of the cost price of the  RoadTest kit and pay that to the E-14 outlet in the receiving country thereby allowing the possibility of the recipient not getting it free of charge, I think from a business point of view it gets complicated considering the different rules in various countries. For example the UK has always been a 'bit tight' (technical term) on what has import duty and VAT applied (I was stung for something I purchased back in the 80's which was only 16 quid), whereas where I am presently living anything less than $1K is not subject to tax so long as it is for a private individual,

Import tax is about what you payed for the product. These are free samples and can be marked as such. I've had lots of kits sent from outside the uk that have not required TAX. Also remember TAX is a percentage so it may be £25 this time and next time is could be £250 or a more expensive kit. You feel pressured to pay at the door and it could pressure others. So agree that a warning would be good if nothing is going to change.

My point was that these kits could be shipped from the local distribution point avoiding the whole issue in the first place.

Hi

I would like to suggest that complaints about import tax belong elsewhere...

Road testing products should not be just about getting FREE developments kits, after all there is no such thing as a free lunch.

I would suggest that anyone deciding to enter a road test application should ask a few questions beforehand, it would save them a lot of hassle afterwards.

Also I think Element14 should as suggested, at least provide a warning so that people can remember to ask the right questions before they apply.

Sometimes the excitement about the product momentarily blinds us as to the implications of road testing.

Perhaps a road testers guide is now neccessary?

It could be reviewed periodically, a road test panel of past testers could be formed to create and review the guide, the guide could be part of the application...read before you apply sort of thing!

I think the main point in Paul's post is that Premier Farnell is company originating in UK, and as such, it could send RoadTest samples from UK to testers located in Europe.
If I was to be chosen as roadtester, for me that would be even greater PITA to get the sample if it was shipped from US location, because of the way UPS operates in Latvia, I would have to go to the UPS office, get the papers for shipment, go to the Customs Office, clear the shipment through, pay all the taxes and duties (which would make up for a nice sum if it was Agilent handheld scope for example) and then go back to UPS to get the package, or pay ~50USD to have customs broker do that for me. While if it was shipped from UK location, it would be delivered to my doorstep and all I had to do, was sign for the package.
So Paul's point is valid, why not make that little step towards roadtesters if you are giving away proucts worth thousands anyway, wouldn't make much difference on element14/Farnell side, but would be huge help for roadtesters not located in US.

If we take as an example current RoadTest, the Agilent Handheld scope, that would cost me way more than 1000USD to import it from US + time and hassle with UPS and customs.

Good afternoon -

There is a shipping issue which we are presently working on - the parameters of the Road Test have not changed, we do not expect participants to pay import duties or anything else.

We hope to have a resolution quickly.  Many thanks for your kind attention.

I've just been informed that this issue has been resolved and that the packages in question will be delivered without charges, as they should be.

I would request that if there are any further problems of this type that I am messaged in the first instance: I and my colleagues will resolve them as quickly as possible.

Many thanks for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely,

Christian DeFeo

Good news!

it is pretty unlikely I am going to be selected as roadtester any time soon (have no luck with lotteries ), but thanks for the update anyway!