Paleonet: Posting specimens UK to EU

Thu Oct 19 19:06:04 UTC 2023

To my knowledge this is not a Brexit issue, but change in customs 
policy. In the past EU customs didn't care for goods with assumed small 
values below 50€ or so. Due to the extensive VAT evasion summing up  
into billions each year, EU customs are now checking also smaller valued 
stuff coming from outside the EU. Things in question go into hold and 
the issue is, that in some EU countries they do not inform the 
recipient. Why ? Simple: The sender doesn't pay for such a service with 
small postage. Recently I got stuff from the US declared as scientific 
sample and not as a gift. I phoned the customs office when it was 
overdue and they told me, that they have something addressed to me and 
wait for someone to declare the goods and pick them up.

BTW there might be also regulations to import fossils and not only 
dinosaurs, Myanmar amber etc. An official letter from whatever 
institution is not the proper way.

My recommendation is to inform yourself about how to export/import stuff 
properly.

Cheers

Michael Hesemann

Am 19.10.23 um 17:38 schrieb Emanuel Tschopp:
> I am based in Germany and I once had to pay a small amount for customs for a loan I had sent to me from the Cincinnati Museum Center. So, I guess yes, this is a Brexit issue - you're treated now equally as the US.
>
> Our collection manager has worked at the customs for a while, I'll try to ask him what he thinks about that.
>
> Cheers,
> Emanuel
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paleonet <paleonet-bounces+etschopp=amnh.org at paleonet.org> On Behalf Of P Brewer
> Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2023 5:19 AM
> To: PaleoNet <paleonet at paleonet.org>
> Subject: Re: Paleonet: Posting specimens UK to EU
>
> EXTERNAL SENDER
>
>
> 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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-- 
Michael Hesemann
Foraminifera.eu Lab
Hamburg, Germany
www.foraminifera.eu