Custom duty on gifts?

[mayerling]

Does anyone know if having something sent to the UK from the US as a gift is subject to custom duty and VAT?

I'd like to get some baby stuff from the US (they're not available in the UK), but having them shipped directly to me would mean incurring duty costs of about £100. I was thinking of just having them shipped to my in-laws in the US and then asking them to ship everything over to the UK saying it's a gift for their grandchild. Would that be subject to tax as well?

 

[Jennifer W]

Basically yes, but it depends on the value. Goods sent as a gift that are over £40 in value are liable to import VAT. Customs duty also becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.

Here's a link to the HMRC website with the full details:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document

 

[mayerling]

Thanks, Jennifer. The link is very helpful.

It seems I'm screwed either way...