Graeme

Could I seek further advice regarding ordering of roasted coffee beans from Italy for delivery to the UK (for my own consumption) please? The coffee beans are imported to Italy by the producer and roasted in Italy Commodity code 0901210000 refers I am having some difficulty getting the producer to reply to a email and confirm they will supply a statement of origin with any shipment. Therefore as far as I can see the position is For a shipment regardless of value there is no VAT to pay. The commodity is not excise goods so regardless of value there is no excise duty to pay. Import duty therefore appears to be the only potential additional charge. It appears that with a statement of origin from the exporter then regardless of value, Tariff preference 0.00% applies and there would be no additional charges - essentially I could order as much as I want and there would be nothing over and above what I pay to the supplier. Without the statement of origin there could be a 3rd country duty of 6% - unless I kept the value less than £135 inc shipping, in which case there would be no import duty even without a statement of origin. If I took the chance and ordered in excess of £135 and then found no statement of origin was included by the supplier, and I was charged an import duty at 3rd country rate, could I use my own knowledge of the product to justify why it originates in Italy?

I am considering buying coffee beans for delivery from Italy (which have been roasted in Italy although clearly not grown there - but I believe would be classed as 'sufficiently worked or processed'). Having followed the UK Integrated Online Tariff for Commodity 0901210000 I believed I could order coffee up to the value £135 and pay the additional £20 shipping cost on top resulting in a duty total of £0. However, when I use the online tool to enter a higher value (picked £400 as that is the most the supplier will ship!) it still provides a £0 duty total. Is this because roasted coffee beans are 0% VAT and exempt from excise or will I get a nasty surprise if I try to order a year's supply!