Question About Buying From Overseas

[y2kitty]

How do import duties/taxes work on gems coming into the US purchased from other countries?

 

[Barrett]

don''t write precious stones on the package..just semi-precious..my fav. is using red corundum for ruby..don''t know if that applies to stones coming into the US..i do it when shipping other places "the man ain''t goin'' to hold me down"...lol..of course doesn''t answer your question..what are you shipping tons of gems from overseas? If not then just ship by DHL, FedEX, or UPS..only time I ever had to pay with one of those 3 carriers is when i shipped 22 kilos of tourmalines and it was like $28..of course that was rough but I don''t think they really check that..we won''t mention the sphene thing though

 

[RockHugger]

When I ship overseas I put on the report craft supplies. Technically jewelry making is a craft, so it's the truth and people are less likely to be tempted to open craft supplies then gemstones.
I have tecieved tons of things and never had to pay duty.

 

[y2kitty]

I have something coming from Australia, should I have the seller mark down the value or does the Austalia free trade agreement apply?

 

[VapidLapid]

I think there is no import tax on gems coming into the US. I don''t know if that is true or if it changes dependent on the country of export. www.sapphires.ca says on their website that, "American Clients: Your gems are free of import taxes, customs duties and shipping charges."
Now that is not authoritative nor does it even touch on why this would be so. Maybe it''s a nafta thing and the taxes were paid entering canada. Perhaps it is only with countries we border. Perhaps he has an office (or a PO box) in US. Perhaps there is a dollar amount over which that changes. There may be differences for companies and individuals. Certainly this is all speculation.

I can''t make sense out of the information at

http://www.export.gov/logistics/eg_main_018130.asp

I found the code for cut natural gemstones other than diamonds and suitable for jewelery, but cant seem to find what that (code) means

 

[serenitydiamonds]

In most cases, there are no duties or taxes for the import of polished loose gemstones or diamonds into the US. On Rubies, there is a very strong trade restriction in effect that requires documentation of specifically where it was mined. This is to prevent people from smuggling gems from Myanmar (Burma).

US Customs Document on that subject:
http://www.usitc.gov/publications/docs/tata/hts/bychapter/1000C71.pdf


I've found it's always best to declare correctly. First, if you're found not to be declaring properly they will confiscate your item, and seeing as there's no duty that's quite a risk. Second, insured packages that are lost are easier to replace with the proper contents declared inside.

--Joshua

 

[y2kitty]

Thank you all for your advice!

 

[chrono]

I thought the US doesn’t charge import taxes on gemstones from other countries?

 

[serenitydiamonds]

Date: 4/19/2010 9:21:44 AM
Author: Chrono
I thought the US doesn’t charge import taxes on gemstones from other countries?

Typically it doesn''t, but for some reason a lot of people assume that it does.

--Joshua

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I always declare the proper amount, but I put minerals and crystals on the outside. I don''t even trust the post office.

We get the idea that there are duties on gems coming into the US because movie and TV make it appear that way.
How many movies have you seen where diamonds are smuggled into the country. Of course if they are stolen that may be one reason they are smuggled. But there are no duties on either diamonds or gemstones coming into the US. There are other countries who do have import duties.

Thanks