OnMyWay Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi All,We sold our holiday place in South Africa and plan to ship the contents to our place in the Vendee. We are both Irish citizens living in the UK, but the removal company in South Africa informed us that we have to pay import duty/tax on the contents we are shipping over. They state this is because the house in the Vendee is not our main residance, but a holiday home. Has anyone had the same experience? If you there is someone with more information on this please let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 The information about importing goods to a second home is here:http://www.douane.gouv.fr/page.asp?id=60At a quick glance (and I mean quick) this says to me that you need to declare all the things you are bringing in and ask for an exemption from TVA, which will be granted provided you do not re-sell the goods within a certain number of years. You may also be asked to prove the purchase dates of more valuable items (I guess this is to prove that you have paid TVA/VAT in the country of origin and are not importing loads of TVA free goods for re-sale). The forms you need are in the link above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 My French is not really up to speed but reading the link I get the impression that permission to import has to be obtained in advance, also Allied Pickfords here tell me I need a "certificate of changing residence" from the French Embassy here in UAE. It seems very complex and I certainly did not do any of this a couple of years ago when I sent personal effects to France, maybe I was lucky.All this does not of course affect those moving within the EU, only from outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandhi Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hi thereWhat was the outcome of your predicament then? We are facing the same issue from SA, can you please advise where you obtained the certificate of residence as the Embassy does not seem to know about it! Also, did you manage to get exemption from the tax as described?thank you!! and viva la france :)Mandhi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Hi MandiI don't know if this will help but I shipped a couple of loads of my stuff from Japan - the last lot in Spring last year . On the advice of the shipping agent I shipped via UK. , the reason being that as a returning 'Brit' I would not have to pay any duty on goods more than 6 months old. The shipment was then moved on to France - shipment within the EU. - no tax charges, no certificate of residence needed.The difference in shipment cost was minimal and everything turned up on my doorstep in France without any problem.I hope this helps.Coral - nearly in the Ariege Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Last August I shipped my personal effects, furniture etc directly to France from Dubai, as I remember, the only certification I got was a letter from my employer stating that I had lived in the UAE for 'x' years and was returning to Europe on completion of contract. I paid no customs duty or taxes of any description. I certainly never went near the French Embassy in Dubai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunny Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Hi,We did something similar to Carol. We moved our stuff from USA to France with a shipping company that shipped it to UK, and then via lorry took it over to France. We had no VAT issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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