Exporting Gold Jewelry To Uk

[Jessy]

I am fairly new to Thailand. Does any body have any advice on sending gold jewlery (in small quantities) to the UK. What are the import/export rules? What's the best way to send it? Please advise.

[happymanme]

Jessy 1st thing to think off is thai gold is so different to european gold (colour texture etc) your customer will not believe its gold.

also you will need to check the customs and excise website for the import duty which i think is high.not forgetting the dreaded vat.

the other thing is its not that cheap in thailand either as they use it like a bank so the prices tend to stay high.also with that in mind it has a very good chance of going missing in transit

good luck though

allan

[petedk]

Sending the gold to the Uk is also problematic. Most courier services (DHL, FedEx etc.) do not allow you to send jewellery. There is a company on Silom (I think the name is OneStop Service (or something like that) that take care of insurance and use FedEx.

If the gold is to be sold in the Uk then you need to have it Hallmarked in the Uk. Not a difficult process but it must be done.

Yes, you'll have to pay VAT and import duty.

Also note that in Thailand they often use 18Karat (or higher) gold whereas most people in Uk prefer 14Karat or even 9Karat. It's cheaper and more durable.

good luck

[dr_Pat_Pong]

and a Thai wouldn't touch either

[gop ba]

The best method in Bangkok is insuring through One Service who sends via fedex (or Fred Rik as pronounced in Thailand) Depending on the shipment value it will cost between 3,000 - 4,000 THB appx to send to UK. If the goods are valued at less than $500 USD than there is no need for outside insurance as fedex has max. coverage of up to 500. If the parcel is high value content than you will prob have to register with one service or better yet, have a registered company send it for you if possible. You will have to check the duty regs for the UK though. If sending to a business you can declare the items as samples but if sending to home residence than you may have to call them gifts. Not sure how strict the Uk is but one can usually get away with calling for example: 18k yellow gold ring set with sapphire and diamond can be written as 18k gold and gemstone sample ring.

best of luck

[Jessy]

Thanks for the valuable advice. It's not as simple as I thought.

What do you think? If it goes via One Service (via FedEX) to a private address marked as a gift, do the UK customs check every parcel? Do they x-ray for metals? And what are the odds of it being stopped for duty? About halmarking. I understand there is now a internationally recognised hallmarking company in Bangkok - its the only one - for that very reason, that people outside of Thailand don;'t rust its completely genuine.

[gop ba]

Not sure about the UK. Usually for other European countries and the US as long as all of the paperwork is in order there is not a problem. Declare each item and put at least the gold weight (appx $10-13/gram for 18k yellow) and you should be fine. Do this only for small quantity though. The nice thing about fedex is that due to the expedited shipping, it tends to be hurried along through customs.

[CarlBkk]

I would definitely recommend couriering the jewellery back yourself or with a trustworthy 3rd person to avoid the incredibly high shipping/insurance costs. You can then declare the goods at the airport and pay the tax, if you wish, when you arrive back in the UK. Of course it makes a difference what "small quantities" you are talking about.

Sending the jewellery as "gift" or "samples" is fine for small quantities, under a certain USD value and for unique pieces (no more than 1 identical item in the package). Even so, you will need a Certificate or Origin, a Fed Ex account number (if shipping with them) and a commercial invoice filled in to as low a value as possible.

Personally, I have had no end of problems (businesswise) with Fed Ex services and their holding of products, incorrect invoicing etc. so would recommend Malca Amit or similar located in the Jewellery Trade Centre in Silom. In case you are curious, you will NOT escape customs duty and tax using Fed Ex, UPS or DHL etc. (even marking it as gift, unless the full criteria is met), BUT the deliveries are reliable, secure and timely. If you are willing to take more risk and save a few ££s, then use Thailand's Express postal service which prices on weight (5kg min though).

Bangkok does not have a UK-recognised Hallmarking procedure - you will, officially, have to get the items Hallmarked in London or Birmingham before you sell them in the UK. If you need to know more about this, private message me.

Customs tax for gold jewellery (gemstone set) is 2.7% + the standard VAT. It's not much compared to other products. There is no export tax for jewellery made in Thailand. See www.hmce.gov.uk to get the relevant codes, tariffs and info. Import licenses are sometimes required.

Lastly, although Asians prefer 22/23K gold, numerous factories will produce 14 or 18K too.

Hope this helps, as it's something quite close to me :-) Even though we may be in competition, good luck!