[Hydroglen]

This is off topic however......
You are making assumptions and as such bound to be wrong. Nobody is asking
for a fiddle or for vendors to be corrupt. A rather draconian
statement....It is how the paperwork is prepared that counts, and is the
issue. A part even newly made that is for a vintage car may come in at a
max of 5% duty /GST or free. If the UK seller omits pertinent info on the
paperwork we are faced with some 30% duty. In addition there can be
lengthy delays.
The UK sellers put it down as newly manufactured part, and as such comes in
under a different tariff. This is a stubborn refusal to understand our
customs laws that say.... if the new part was made for vintage use then the
tariff changes to 5% or free and home delivery.
This has been the case with most UK shipments. NEVER with shipments from
other parts of Europe or the USA. They understand the requirements and
prepare the paperwork accordingly. They clarify that it is for a vintage
car, bike, plane or whatever...An new electric fuel pump, as an example,
that you want to use on your vintage car may come in free or at 5%. If the
UK vendor omitts or refuses to acknowledge the end use you are using it on
then I end up payng more. You may think that this is a loophole to import
anything under the guise that it is for vintage use and maybe so. I can
assure you that there is not much that we need to import from the UK that is
not for vintage use.
You want to call or imply that the rest of the world is corrupt and a bunch
of fiddlers, then that is a strange choice of wording.
Since you bring up the corrupt word, I question the honesty of a system that
offers a VAT refund when leaving the UK. I and several posters have found
it virtually impossible to use or collect all your money from it.

Dorien