I live in Thailand and am relocating to The Middle East this summer via an 8-week break in the UK.

We’ve been thinking about buying an iPad and 2 MacBooks here. They’re a little cheaper than the UK.

Someone suggested we’d be liable to paying duty on them when we arrive in England? Is this true?

It seems incorrect as we’re not UK residents and people don’t pay tax on things the bring with them when on holiday.

I’ve had a look online and can’t find the answer.

Thanks

Someone suggested we’d be liable to paying duty on them when we arrive in England? Is this true?

If you are bringing them in their boxes to give as gifts, yes you would be liable to pay VAT & import duty and have a fair to middling chance of being asked to pay it.

If you’re bringing them with you and taking them away with you again, they will not be liable.

They’re for us but is it based on probability? How could we prove it?

I could show them contracts for our new jobs and onward tickets out of the country but this doesn’t prove they aren’t gifts.

Take them out of their original packaging, it’s all you have to do.

If they’ve been taken out of their boxes and activated, apps installed and clearly in use with your accounts, I can’t see that anyone would raise an eyebrow at that.

i think if you’re bringing anything back into the UK (for good), even if it’s for you, then you’re liable to pay the (UK) VAT on that..
However, unless you waltz through customs waving it above your head in a brand new box with thai receipts stapled to it, i very much doubt anyone would care.. i.e where do you stop?

Someone with a suitcase full of Rolexes in boxes..dodgy..
Someone with ONE rolex on their wrist.. could be dodgy, could be fine…

DrP

Loads of people I know go to the States with an empty suitcase and buy clothes out there as they’re so much cheaper. Bring them back in the suitcase after they’ve been worn once with labels removed and you don’t have to pay any import duty on them as no on knows their brand new.

Also if I travel for work and take any tech with me; laptop, phone, tablet etc. then no one asks for import duty as they’re clearly not new and being used.

I think you’re probably worrying about a non issue TBH. You’ll be fine 🙂

Very rare to see anyone having their baggage inspected at Heathrow, mostly it’s intelligence led drug searches, not the odd iPad.

I was once on a plane where on disembarking we were lined up in an empty corridor so they could have a drug dog sniff us all one by one before they let us go…

I know someone who once tried to declare a laptop he had bought in the US as a replacement for one that was broken on the trip (it was going through company expenses anyway so he didn’t really care). The customs guy at Heathrow looked at him like he was mad.

Thanks all.

I did feel like I was worrying about nothing.