NickO
1726
I read this story as a question of context
Everyone who visits this site has a keen interest in watches, but we always have to remember we are very much in the minority. The average person thinks it’s crazy to spend over $500 on a watch. And that same person also thinks it’s crazy to own multiple watches. So if the average person owns one watch worth less than $500 then, yeah, it’s a little hard for them to understand why someone is carrying multiple thousands of dollars worth of watches and multiple pieces. Most customs officers fall into the average person category and not the watch nut category. This is just the long way of saying the assumption is always going to be you are carrying commercial product before personal property. I feel badly for the author but I’m not surprised by his experience.
NickO
Anyone here got screwed ??? Hope not :-( .... .
Apparently you have to be careful what you take with you into the country. www.fratellowatches.com
Impressive story
Such a situation must feel depressing for the poor enthusiast. But one has to admit that the customs need to do their job and the people they randomly check could very well be second hand watch dealers so the argument "it is an old watch" doesn't hold wat...
Just read the post, do not want to defend the Swiss but...
how would it be handled in the US or China? Not very clever to not declare watches you carry... No prove he didn’t want to sell these watches which happens often. I always am a bit suspicious about these stories.... Or is it just me becoming almost like a...
There has two be different applications to used “vintage” vs new
Sure i would find it suspicious if some was traveling with two or three sealed / new workers watches or even one with the box and materials. But vintage watches or for arguments sake 5-10 year old watch. A new watch can clearly be evaluated as for its wor...
I do not agree ...
From day one when a new watch has been sold it should be free .... see my response to Dirk above. Maybe this sounds like a very simplistic explanation .... and yes it is very simple but only fair as well.
One watch new on the wrist yes no tax.
4 new watches in your baggae from 2019 you look like a dealer planning to sell. A vintage guy with four 30 year omd watches is not a dealer unless he is a dealer hiding the fact.
Maybe you ....
... already were a Belgian used to pay taxes , then became a European used to pay extra taxes and now a Swiss getting used to even pay more taxes 😂. There are rules indeed, but who invents these rules ? Yup, the biggest thieves. Paying taxes or VAT on a 5...
No matter what the story is
This is another reason not to attend this show and just read about it 10 min after doors open! Sucks for that person though. $4000 is a lot to throw away!
Why’s that, I’ve been confronted with US customs several times
Not a very pleasant experience. We all just need to prepare for the local rules, makes sense? Cheers, Dirk
I guess they already made a lot of own goals, but ...
... they don’t care because they don’t have to. People tend to forget easily so the show will go on.
Yes, it’s interesting that in the past they ...
Turned a blind eye to dubious financial transactions.
Pays to Know the Rules
A couple years ago I had a trip to Singapore. I was planning to shop a bit and brought along a Nautilus to wear for that purpose. For less attention I also had an IWC 3705. Then I bought a new watch - a Tudor. Next stop on the trip was Bangkok, and now th...
not yet..
i was aware though.... a pitty what happened, but it does happen quite often....
I lived it myself, but not in Basel. On the way back to Paris from Jaeger Lecoultre. 1 hour and a half after, the case was closed, without fine, but hell, what a pain! I feel sorry for ...
The author of this article. Very sorry. But we have to thank him for this article. And for the reminder. Best, nicolas
Imagine having to pay ...
... a yearly tax on the extra value of your watch collection. In Belgium it would be possible, but only if the value goes up. If value goes down they don’t pay back ... actually this is what happening in real life with real busines, you have a bad year yo...
Only for small businesses ...
When you run a one man show like i do you risk this kind of madness, if you have a ltd you can book profits or losses to another year ... or something like that ...
So I declare these are my personal watches and still have to pay 7.7% VAT then claim back later after leaving Switzerland?
Or they will let people go after verifying the items? From the article, personal item=commercial item....quite a setback for members who will attend oversea's GTGs in future.
Read closely ...
To get the VAT back is nearly impossible, and when he gets it back he will have to go straight past the German customs booth . Tehy will ask were he got these watches and probably be fined and have to pay import taxes as well because he probably cant prov...
I did read the part about him returning to Germany and possibly be questioned by German customs...
but for tourist from US or Other non-EU countries where we leave from Switzerland back straight home, I wonder how this works. Anyways, I’ll not travel to EU with more than 1 watch going forward. Declaring my personal items seem ridiculous.
A friend of mine ...
... once came back from a flight from Switserland with a Rolex on the wrist. He could not show them the purchase invoice because obviously why on earth would you carry it with you ? So he had to send them the invoice with proof of payment ( in the EU) to ...
Don't bring more than one watch. If you do you run a higher risk of being at the mercy of customs.
If you are a professional, you should know the need to declare ahead you are importing certain amount of watches with the intention of exporting them out at the end. Customs have forms for these. In years past I have read many casual collectors who did it...
I simply don’t understand the policy rationale for putting a tariff on one’s personal property
Are they trying to create a disincentive to tourism? Or might it be that they have a better chance to sell visitors a watch if they are disincentivized from bring their own watches with them
It’s not only about the watches.
The EU got us used to pay taxes more than once on any thing, from cars to whatever is on the market. Buying and selling second hand items and then having to pay taxes on it is actually ridiculous, but i guess our leaders know better ;-)
I read this story as a question of context
Everyone who visits this site has a keen interest in watches, but we always have to remember we are very much in the minority. The average person thinks it’s crazy to spend over $500 on a watch. And that same person also thinks it’s crazy to own multiple ...
Seems justifiable to me
Every time I have moved to a different country, the rule has been personal property is duty free, commercial property is subject to import tax. There need to be some assumptions applied when a traveller is found to have more than what is reasonably necess...
Safeguarding
This is worrying for me and I certainly do not know the various rules when I go on holiday abroad. I have a watch roll and like to take some of my more valuable watches with me in my carry-on luggage. Two common reasons for taking a few watches with me: T...
Never go to India...
Not only will your checked-in luggage be opened...violently...with the lock broken or zippers clipped, but they will insist on inspecting your luggage to assess dubious customs duty or simply ask for a bribe. This has happened to me numerous times at Bomb...