So I declare these are my personal watches and still have to pay 7.7% VAT then claim back later after leaving Switzerland?

Mar 25, 2019,16:08 PM
 

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.

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Anyone here got screwed ??? Hope not :-( .... .

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-12:44
Apparently you have to be careful what you take with you into the country. www.fratellowatches.com

Impressive story

 
 By: VinnieD : March 25th, 2019-13:42
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...

 
 By: dedestexhes : March 25th, 2019-13:46
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

 
 By: Bill : March 25th, 2019-15:45
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 ...

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:33
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.

 
 By: Bill : March 25th, 2019-20:49
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 ....

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:30
... 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

 
 By: ripper444 : March 25th, 2019-13:55
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

 
 By: dedestexhes : March 25th, 2019-14:02
Not a very pleasant experience. We all just need to prepare for the local rules, makes sense? Cheers, Dirk

Makes sense yes

 
 By: ripper444 : March 25th, 2019-15:09
Yes.

I guess they already made a lot of own goals, but ...

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:37
... 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 ...

 
 By: Cpt Scarlet : March 26th, 2019-02:01
Turned a blind eye to dubious financial transactions.

Pays to Know the Rules

 
 By: Steve E : March 25th, 2019-15:25
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..

 
 By: @lberti : March 25th, 2019-15:26
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 ...

 
 By: amanico : March 25th, 2019-15:28
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 ...

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:41
... 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 ...

 
 By: bimbeano : March 26th, 2019-14:38
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?

 
 By: Clueless_Collector : March 25th, 2019-16:08
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 ...

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:43
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...

 
 By: Clueless_Collector : March 25th, 2019-18:52
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 ...

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:59
... 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.

 
 By: nwk00 : March 25th, 2019-16:33
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

 
 By: descartes1 : March 25th, 2019-17:51
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.

 
 By: bimbeano : March 25th, 2019-18:47
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 ;-)

It’s called a rip-off ! [nt]

 
 By: Cpt Scarlet : March 26th, 2019-02:06
No message body

I read this story as a question of context

 
 By: NickO : March 25th, 2019-18:23
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

 
 By: Uncle Chico : March 26th, 2019-01:04
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... 

+1 [nt]

 
 By: dedestexhes : March 26th, 2019-14:47

Safeguarding

 
 By: chippyfly : March 26th, 2019-07:03
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...

 
 By: U3O8 : March 26th, 2019-14:02
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... 

Now that is crazy ....

 
 By: bimbeano : March 26th, 2019-14:40
.. but i'm not planning on ever going there anyway