Buying cockpit canopy from Denmark re VAT and import duty

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Jcorstorphine

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I was planning to buy a new cockpit canopy for my LM28 back in 2019 but decided to make do with the existing one and when Covid19 wrecked 2020 the idea went on the back burner.
I now need to think about getting a new canopy as present one is now a bit tired.
The cost back in 2019 was 7,245 DKK inc VAT plus 550 DKK for delivery. I have heard recently of people ordering items from the EU and been charged quite high sums of money on import duty. An example was a £200 coat to which £85 was charged in the form of duty or VAT.
Can anyone clarify what the situation is relative to buying goods from the EU.
 
That is around £1k assuming their price has not gone up since then. Worth getting one made locally? Not difficult for a decent canvas worker.

They will have to ship ex VAT now and you will pay the UK VAT on the cost including shipping charge plus an admin fee to the carrier. You may also find them a bit reluctant to sell to you now because of the disruption following the 1/1/21 changes.
 
Presumably this is from Schultz, who made and supplied the original canopies etc. for LMs, and still have the jigs used for manufacture. (I have bought from them and found the quality, fit and service excellent.)

In theory, it should result in a saving on VAT, as Danish VAT is at 25% and UK at 20% (but that may be cancelled out by other post-Brexit charges).

Whether Shultz are (yet) geared up to supply to the UK under the new system, you would have to ask them. I found them very easy to deal with by email, and the person I dealt with had excellent English.
 
Jcorstorphine said:
I was planning to buy a new cockpit canopy for my LM28 back in 2019 but decided to make do with the existing one and when Covid19 wrecked 2020 the idea went on the back burner.
I now need to think about getting a new canopy as present one is now a bit tired.
The cost back in 2019 was 7,245 DKK inc VAT plus 550 DKK for delivery. I have heard recently of people ordering items from the EU and been charged quite high sums of money on import duty. An example was a £200 coat to which £85 was charged in the form of duty or VAT.
Can anyone clarify what the situation is relative to buying goods from the EU.
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I recently bought an item from a UK seller. I was able to indicate my location, which enabled me to be invoiced free of UK VAT. On importation the carrier then arranged for me to pay Irish VAT @21% on the cost of the item plus carriage, to which they are permitted to add handling fee of €10.00. I'm sure a similar arrangement now pertains for UK buyers importing goods from EU countries. There have been threads on here in the last few days discussing sending goods from UK to Spain. Search "sending parcels to Spain post Brexit".
 
You are right about Denmark being expensive but the company Shultz in Denmark made all the canopies for the LM range of motorsailors and still have the have the original jigs. All of the LM owners who have purchased new canopies from them have commented that they fit first time plus they tend to keep standard colours in stock. I dread having to buy any serious pares for my Danish Bukh 36 HP engine or its Saildrive. :(
 
At least as a more-expensive item they don't have to register with HMRC for VAT, which is what has put off a lot of traders in smaller items, both in the EU and around the world (I've been prevented from buying a couple of specialist parts from the US, and someone else here couldn't buy from Australia).

Pete
 
Not sure that the earlier response about customs duty is correct. I think that whilst the labour part of the cost would be EU based, and hence should not be liable to customs duty, if it's made from Sunbrella or any other non-EU manufactured cloth, then customs duty may be due.

In any case, so early in the life of the dumb blond's agreement, it is quite possible that HMRC will decide that duty is payable, regardless of whether that is correct or not. Appealing an HMRC decision is likely to be very tricky and slow.
 
I'd be fairly confident the added-value of the work in Denmark will mean that no duty is payable. As long as supplier declares country of origin to be Denmark (or any other EU country), duty shouldn't be an issue. VAT will be due of course, plus whatever handling fee the carrier adds. The latter is the part that is almost impossible to establish for many carriers - they seem rather coy about divulging the details. I tried the UPS Landed Cost calculator recently for UK to Germany, but it refused all the commodity codes I tried.
 
dgadee said:
Get it sent to a friend in Northern Ireland who can send it on to you. We are still in the EU. Sort of.
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Then you would need to pay the Danish or NI vat, and two carriage costs (I considered this route)

The system will smooth itself out, I just ordered stuff from uk to Ireland.

The uk supplier did not charge vat.

They charged carriage at 19 pounds.

Each piece had the customs tarrif code and the place of origin included on the invoice details.

I have checked each number and duty is 0% on all of the goods. Places of origin are UK, Japan, taiwan. I expect to pay 21% Irish vat on carriage, and the 10 pound fee to the courier and on the net price of goods so only a small increase.

An advantage is that the shiny new electronics will have proper vat receipts if I am stopped returning from the UK this year...
 
I bought a canopy from a reputable sailmaker in Scotland two years ago. They provided a personal service, were careful to match the fabric, installed it on the boat and gave excellent aftercare. Their quality was, I believe, much better than the original manufacturer. Before going abroad, why not at least consult a local company?
 
Probably the same reason you wouldn’t generally go to a local machine shop and get them to have a go at making engine parts which are still available from the manufacturer. If the cost is similar but one part is the original and guaranteed to be perfect normal people tend to go for the original.
 
lustyd said:
Probably the same reason you wouldn’t generally go to a local machine shop and get them to have a go at making engine parts which are still available from the manufacturer. If the cost is similar but one part is the original and guaranteed to be perfect normal people tend to go for the original.
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Original manufacturers usually charge premium prices. If you want that option, just pay. Don't complain.
 
There is nothing difficult about making canvas covers. Each one is largely individual and even having existing patterns does not necessarily reduce cost. There are only two significant costs of production, labour and materials which are the same whether the cut is from patterns or individual measurement. In fact, some specialist canvas makers such as Tec Sew in Gosport use 3D design software taking basic measurements from the boat to produce a cutting list that goes straight to the laser cutting machine. They did this for my cockpit canopy and even produced alternate designs for me to choose from. Final product fitted perfectly.
 
dgadee said:
Original manufacturers usually charge premium prices. If you want that option, just pay. Don't complain.
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Who is complaining? The price seems to be about the same from what the OP said, but the quality is better. The issue is around post-Brexit rules which are currently in flux and very troublesome. The value and quality of the manufacturer is not being questioned, yet for some reason people keep telling them to use a potentially inferior local supplier. I was answering a post from Magicol who asked "Before going abroad, why not at least consult a local company?"
 
There has been no price comparison. The only price known so far is the 2019 price from Denmark adjusted for today's exchange rate with a guestimate allowance for new extra costs. The view that the OE product is automatically superior (or that local supplier is inferior) is just not sustainable. In fact the opposite in my experience. The OE canvas work offered by at least 3 boat builders I looked at when buying my boat is very poor quality and in fact just about every dealer for European production builders has canvas work made in the UK for new boats. However not necessarily true of Scandinavian builders and I expect the LM cover to be very high quality. The reality is though, that a good UK supplier could make an equally high quality product at probably a lower cost because the biggest cost is labour. Might be less hassle too.
 
lustyd said:
Who is complaining? The price seems to be about the same from what the OP said, but the quality is better. The issue is around post-Brexit rules which are currently in flux and very troublesome. The value and quality of the manufacturer is not being questioned, yet for some reason people keep telling them to use a potentially inferior local supplier. I was answering a post from Magicol who asked "Before going abroad, why not at least consult a local company?"
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JCorstorphine seemed - to me - to be complaining about potential excess costs. I still think if he wants it, he should just buy it.
 
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