Is the insured value required to match the declared value on the CN-22(or whatever the customs declaration form is)? Im sure US watchmakers who regularly receive pieces from outside of the US would have some insight
Us Customs website has the paperwork needed and rules. ( not that hard to look up or just call them )
Declaration needed by watchmaker in the other country.
OK, I will update this thread, despite the frustration and embarrassment, in the hope that someone else may benefit in the future.
When the watch arrived in Germany, it was held by customs. They assigned an arbitrary value of 1,000 Euros, despite the fact that it had been declared as broken, for repair and return. I have absolutely no idea where that value came from. The person receiving it made and appeal, and explained the situation, but customs wouldn't release it without payment of 20% duty. For an item that is NOT being imported into Germany!
So with insured shipping and the import duty, I'm into this for well over $400 USD, before any work has been done on the watch. I'm already starting to regret this, and I can only hope that US Customs doesn't make my life difficult upon the return.
The person receiving it made and appeal, and explained the situation, but customs wouldn't release it without payment of 20% duty. For an item that is NOT being imported into Germany!
To be clear, the watch is in fact being imported into Germany. It鈥檚 a temporary import for repairs, and depending on the laws of the country the watchmaker is in, they may be required to pay a bond up front that may be equal to the taxes/duty that would be owed if the import was for a sale. This is to make sure that someone isn鈥檛 importing under the guise of doing repairs, but then keeping the watches.
Typically once the item is returned, the repairer can provide proof of this to their government agency, and get the monies refunded.
When I ship a watch back, there are two values involved - the value of the item (the market value of the watch, which is the value it's insured for), and the value for customs purposes. For an item being returned after repairs or servicing, the value for customs purposes is the value of the repairs only, so the "value added" while it was out of the country.
Cheers, Al
OK, I will update this thread, despite the frustration and embarrassment, in the hope that someone else may benefit in the future.
When the watch arrived in Germany, it was held by customs. They assigned an arbitrary value of 1,000 Euros, despite the fact that it had been declared as broken, for repair and return. I have absolutely no idea where that value came from. The person receiving it made and appeal, and explained the situation, but customs wouldn't release it without payment of 20% duty. For an item that is NOT being imported into Germany!
So with insured shipping and the import duty, I'm into this for well over $400 USD, before any work has been done on the watch. I'm already starting to regret this, and I can only hope that US Customs doesn't make my life difficult upon the return.
