Paleonet: Posting specimens UK to EU

[Michael Hesemann]

Institutions with frequent and/or valuable import should register with 
the customs authorities and will get an id-no and need to appoint a tax 
responsible. Then their specific import goods are well known to the 
customs and import will go smoothly. If you come as for the customs 
unknown individual with a strange import item, customs can't handle it 
easily.

Am 2023-10-19 um 11:19 AM schrieb P Brewer:
> I actually had a problem before Brexit. The customs agents weren't happy with the valuation. There is sometimes a misunderstanding that all fossils have significant monetary value, despite a formal letter explaining the nature of the samples. It happens from time to time with customs agents (and we used a courier as well).
>
> Pip
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paleonet <paleonet-bounces+pipb666=hotmail.com at paleonet.org> On Behalf Of Simon Schneider
> Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2023 10:27 AM
> To: paleonet at paleonet.org
> Subject: Re: Paleonet: Posting specimens UK to EU
>
> Dear Lucy,
>
> It is clearly a Brexit issue. I had similar experience with German customs, several times over the last couple of years, but never before.
> Material, in some cases only a small padded envelope with rock samples for nannofossil analyses, was held back by customs, and the recipients were asked to pay for customs clearance - despite all being declared as scientific rock samples, no commercial value. In two cases, samples (fortunately only splits) got completely lost.
>
> My personal conclusion is, I don't send non-replaceable samples any more. I haven't tried courier yet though, only Royal Mail.
>
> All the best,
> Simon
>
> On 19/10/2023 08:45, Lucy Muir wrote:
>> Dear all,
>>
>> This is mostly a question for UK-based paleonetters. I have just found
>> out that a parcel of fossil specimens that I tried to send from the UK
>> to Spain has been returned - for the second time. One of my colleagues
>> has had a box of specimens rejected by Portuguese customs, so this is
>> not just me. I assume that this is something to do with changes in
>> customs after Brexit. Can anyone give any advice on sending specimens
>> from the UK so that they will actually reach their destination?
>>
>> Additional information, in case it's useful: I filled in a customs
>> form saying that the contents were "Geological specimens for study"
>> and giving a value of £1. (I put this value in on the advice of Post
>> Office staff - at the first attempt I had said that the value was £0.)
>>
>> I would like to go to Spain on holiday, but it seems a little
>> ridiculous to have to do that in order to hand over some fossils...
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Lucy
>>
>>
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>
> --
> Dr. Simon Schneider
> Geologist-Palaeontologist
> CASP, West Building
> Madingley Rise, Madingley Road
> Cambridge CB3 0UD
> United Kingdom
> http://www.casp.org.uk/
>
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