I'll be returning home (USA) later this year from New Zealand and possibly flying through Australia & then Germany to visit my brother-in-law for a week or 10 days. I might have some of my stack with me and am wondering about what sort of VAT I might have to pay. I'm obviously not a dealer and the total value might be $10k-20k. Has anyone done anything like this? I'm more concerned about Germany really but, as far as a personal collections goes, will oz try to charge me GST? thanks
If you have copy receipts or other proof of ownership transiting the EU shouldn't be a problem. VAT on silver in Germany is (I think) 7% - as compared to say UK, where it's 20%! You'll have to argue the toss if anyone wants to charge you, or if they had concern that you were going to sell the shiny you might be able to store it with Customs until you leave for the US... There's no GST on investment sllver (or gold) in Australia... Hope this helps x
Thanks for the tip. It might be in my best interest to not argue and just leave the goods with customs (provided I might be able to lock it up!) Trouble is, I have no paper receipts for any of my metals.
EU countries required you to declare cash or metals worth over 10,000 euro. Tax on silver in Germany is 7% if it's legal tender (coins) or 19% if it's just metal (bars), but you shouldn't have to pay any VAT if you're taking it out of the country again. I'd consider writing up an inventory of everything you're taking with you now in case you need to show it to customs when you enter the EU and/or get them to check it off again when you leave.
samboyellowsub, do yourself a favour, and just simply telephone them up & ask. Try the German Embassy in NZ & the Australian one there, or call here. If you do it now, you have plenty of time for making any necessary follow-up inquiries. Don't be surprised/caught out at the time, but ask all the questions now, so you know exactly where you stand. As you have no receipts (not even electronic?), my (initial off the cuff) suggestion would be to perhaps photograph your stack next to a copy of two NZ newspapers (Auckland one + Otago), including copies of the newspapers on the very day you depart. This would be evidence that you originally possessed this stack in NZ. Possibly a needless exercise, but simple & easy & it would be a useful record regardless.
Just sell eveything you need to keep it under 10,000 euro and when you get to the states go shopping!
moving the NZD's back over to USD presents another small hurdle - although the BofA/Westpac ATM alliance helps with that a little.
so there is a new element to this journey. We might be flying through Shanghai. Will there be any problem in the Chinese airport if it is a simple layover (6hrs)?
Apart from the balls it takes to travel with >10k in your pocket: You might want to have a look at the german customs information site, starting at http://www1.zoll.de/english_version/index.html , and maybe http://www1.zoll.de/english_version...non_ec_countries/index.html#non_ec_countries7 . Maybe you find something that better matches your case: You are not importing goods, so different rules may apply. As it was already pointed out, YOU might have to prove that you already possessed the goods and are not importing them. You might also consider writing the question to the first mail address at http://www.zoll.de/DE/Service/Auskuenfte/Zollthemen/zollthemen_node.html if you want to be sure (and may be have a written answer that you can refer to when the customs guy at the airport bugs you...)
Do you think they would charge you anything bringing it back into the states? I'm in the same boat, an American living in Nz. Just deciding what I would do if I have to go back to the states with my PMs.
