Filling Out A watch Form For US Customs

[Larry S]

Bought my kid a birthday present from my favorite French microbrand. Its been quite a while since I’ve filled one of these out. I thought I’d post the watch form instructions from DHL which are pretty good. Be sure however to take the carrier conversion to USD from whatever currency you buy in. It must tally to that figure. This form is required for customs clearance when you import a watch. You will normally be asked by the carrier to fill this out. Obviously calculate percentages to apply from this sheet.

 

[Dan S]

Type of movement: Analog vs. Electronic. Confused me at first.

And if it were an auto-winding mechanical movement, how would you divide the value between Movement and Power?

I have seen some other versions of this form that are less confusing, e.g. this FedEx form.

Edited: Jul 23, 2021

 

[Larry S]

Dan S

Type of movement: Analog vs. Electronic. Confused me at first.

And if it were an auto-winding mechanical movement, how would you divide the value between Movement and Power?

I have seen some other versions of this form that are less confusing.

It’s weird about valuing the battery. Can’t remember the last one, but this is what customs wanted. I’ve filled quite a few out in my accumulation days.

 

[Tony C.]

This is one that FedEx uses:

 

[Larry S]

Tony C.

This is one that FedEx uses:

Yea. That’s busier than what I remember.

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

In 2020 I imported to the US a Blackbay 58 and here is the DHL paperwork I received with it. I found the price breakdown interesting.

 

[Larry S]

I guess the point to new folks is … “You will be asked to do this. “

 

[ConElPueblo]

Has this anything to do with carrier insurance or similar? The form I have to fill out when shipping a watch to the US is much, much simpler.

 

[Tony C.]

ConElPueblo

Has this anything to do with carrier insurance or similar?

No, I don't believe so. It is technically the correct way to declare watches through Customs, but due to the enormous volume, most of the lower value parcels sent through the USPS are never checked, and no taxes are applied.

 

[ConElPueblo]

Tony C.

No, I don't believe so. It is technically the correct way to declare watches through Customs, but due to the enormous volume, most of the lower value parcels sent through the USPS are never checked, and no taxes are applied.

Wow...

I think I've posted this before, but here's my form:




- Type of export (gift, commercial sample, etc).
- Currency of stated value.
- Number of items.
- Net weight.
- Description (thirty characters max).
- Country of origin.
- HS Tariff number (optional).
- Customs value.

EDIT: I note that your forms are on paper - can't remember the last time I filled out any sort of official document physically.

 

[Tony C.]

Yes, when I ship from Portugal, the required form is also relatively simple. But if the receiver wants to reduce his import tax exposure, the longer form, with the breakdown of parts value, is essential!

Again, though, most lower value watches skate through without being taxed at all. Or at least did when I was living in the U.S.

 

[LesXL]

ConElPueblo

Has this anything to do with carrier insurance or similar? The form I have to fill out when shipping a watch to the US is much, much simpler.

Same here... The basic information is
.. what is it, a watch... How much... Thank you
Ps: it asks if it need to be insured

 

[ConElPueblo]

Tony C.

Yes, when I ship from Portugal, the required form is also relatively simple. But if the receiver wants to reduce his import tax exposure, the longer form, with the breakdown of parts value, is essential!

Again, though, most lower value watches skate through without being taxed at all. Or at least did when I was living in the U.S.

Pretty much everything gets caught in the Customs' net here. Even if it means that I will have to pay €0 for the good itself and then €20 for the handling and associated admin

 

[LesXL]

ConElPueblo

Pretty much everything gets caught in the Customs' net here. Even if it means that I will have to pay €0 for the good itself and then €20 for the handling and associated admin

30€ custom fees in Belgium... Just for their work to evaluate if and how much tax you need to pay. For anything none EU (damn Brexit), I need to factor 30% more in custom, without the extra shipping fees.

I see sosny nice watches go by... On top of it, there is Covid, at least before that, I'd travel a least once or twice to the US, so could arrange local shipping... Or to London...

I need to start collecting something else

Edited: Jul 23, 2021

 

[abrod520]

ConElPueblo

Pretty much everything gets caught in the Customs' net here. Even if it means that I will have to pay €0 for the good itself and then €20 for the handling and associated admin

It's also state by state - when I lived in California, even if I didn't have to pay federal import duty I had to pay state "use tax" (import duty). Not in New York though for instance.

In any case, as a US citizen / resident, I'm fairly confident in saying that paying import duties is probably worth it for proper healthcare though

 

[ConElPueblo]

abrod520

In any case, as a US citizen / resident, I'm fairly confident in saying that paying import duties is probably worth it for proper healthcare though

For small ticket items I am sure that the costs are higher than the earnings, sadly.

 

[Dan S]

ConElPueblo

For small ticket items I am sure that the costs are higher than the earnings, sadly.

Ah, but in this particular case, you see, we are protecting the highly lucrative domestic watch industry, which, in turn, pays vast amounts of corporate income taxes. /s
(And no, I don't consider Apple to be a watch company.)

 

[perks713]

Larry S

Bought my kid a birthday present from my favorite French microbrand.

I’ve been trying to understand what it’s going to cost me to get a watch from overseas to the US, I’m curious what was the customs fee on your purchase? There are watches on the forums or eBay I’d be willing to go after but am always worried I’m going to get hit with a massive import fee. I think it varies by state but trying to get a general sense, the Google has not been super helpful for whatever reason.

 

[Larry S]

Don’t worry .. the highest I’ve ever paid is around $350. This will probably be well under a hundred.

 

[perks713]

Nice, good to know. Thanks.