Up till now I have never been charged import duty on any engine parts I've had shipped over from america, only ever been charged VAT. What parts are we charged duty on here in the U.K? 'cos I just recieved my new (used) afr 195's, assembled with valve covers and I got charged a (modest) import duty. Is this right? I'd hate to think I got fleeced again like when this dude decided to list the value of a camera I bought as $400 rather than the $275 I paid.

Can't remember the exact numbers but you should be paying import duty on anything over something like 31quid. Yeah, sometimes you get away with it, but not all the time.

Si.

5-10% import duty (on the value of the part AND shipping added together).

Then 17.5% on that new total (yes tax, on tax!).

Often the courier firm wants a small handling fee on top of that for taking care of dealing with customs for you...

UPS typicly charge £10 handling fee ....

It's a bit hit and miss.I've got away with it quite a few times.Always with USPS though and they're cheaper than UPS etc.If you really look into it you're paying a weight tax!If you can,get someone to send the item as a gift,no duty then.It's still a fair bit cheaper to get stuff direct from the US than being ripped off here.Since Ebay and other sites I haven't bought anything from this country.I saved 800 quid on a block,crank and rods by getting it from the USA.I think we need to spread the word on the European board about good vendors in the USA.You can certainly get better deals and good advice from some of the smaller vendors other than Summit etc.Tenperf.com is a good example.I'll shut up now.