OT Stateside question for you U.K. blokes

[Horst]

I need to send a piece of equipment to the U.K. for servicing. The situation, as I understand it, is that I am going to have to Pay VAT on the declared value of the equipment itself rather than the value of the service. Can that be correct?

[MattiJ]

I need to send a piece of equipment to the U.K. for servicing. The situation, as I understand it, is that I am going to have to Pay VAT on the declared value of the equipment itself rather than the value of the service. Can that be correct?

I'm not from UK but I believe these things work somewhat similar.

Generally you would need first to register the shipment at US customs so that You don't need to pay US import taxes/VAT on return.

UK company declares the equipment one way or other (it's their headache, they might have to pay VAT but they should get the VAT refunded at the end)

UK company ships it back to you and you show all the paperwork to US customs to prove that it has been under service and you pay for US customs whatever they want. (In here you would pay VAT&applicable duties/taxes for spare parts, shipping and repair work)

[hermetic]

You are not in the UK therefore you are not subject to VAT, you will need to send an order with your shipping address on it, and the repaires will not charge VAT on the service. My brother (www.cambraicovers.com) sends aircraft covers and accesories all over the world, overseas sales are not subject to VAT. This transaction is the overseas sale of a service.
Phil