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Could This Be For Real!?

MaCamZa

MaCamZa

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 10, 2010
276
0
England, United Kingdom
Hey; this is kinda of important as i really want to buy an iPhone 4 really soon soo....,

If i purchased an Unlocked Canadian iPhone 4, can i put a UK Sim in it and would it work? Also, when you activate the phone via iTunes, will it only activate on the Canadian iTunes Site thingy, if you know what I mean... and would like all the UK versioned apps work on the Canadian iPhone 4?

Cheers, any help is URGENT, and is greatly appreciated! :L
 
The phone will work with any SIM if it is unlocked. The app store it will work with depends on the account you use to log into the app store. Use a UK account and you get the UK store. All stores work on all phones with the correct account.
 
robbieduncan said:
The phone will work with any SIM if it is unlocked. The app store it will work with depends on the account you use to log into the app store. Use a UK account and you get the UK store. All stores work on all phones with the correct account.
Click to expand...

So... I have a UK account on iTunes, but will the Canadian iPhone 4 only work/activate on a Canadian Account/Store?
 
MaCamZa said:
So... I have a UK account on iTunes, but will the Canadian iPhone 4 only work/activate on a Canadian Account/Store?
Click to expand...

Read what I wrote. Specifically "All stores work on all phones". Use a UK account on any iPhone and you get the UK store. All phones are the same: they don't make different hardware/firmware just for Canada.
 
robbieduncan said:
Read what I wrote. Specifically "All stores work on all phones". Use a UK account on any iPhone and you get the UK store. All phones are the same: they don't make different hardware/firmware just for Canada.
Click to expand...

So theoretically, an iPhone 4 from Canada is the same as an iPhone 4 in the UK, except for it's main adapter? Or is there anything else i should note before going on and buying one in Canada as its considerably cheaper than in the UK.
 
MaCamZa said:
Contract-Free it is. In the UK Apple Store, iPhone 4 are priced at £499. In Canada, it's priced at $659 which is approx. - £407.72

£92 cheaper!
Click to expand...

So how much will you have to pay for shipping (Apple Canada will not ship to the UK). And how much is import duty into the UK (and VAT which you'll have to pay too)?

Edit: I've found out for you: import duty is 0% but you have to pay import VAT. So even if shipping is £0.00 you would have to pay import VAT of £61.05. If shipping and shipping insurance cost you £14 or more the import VAT would be more than you would save.
 
robbieduncan said:
Are you sure it's cheaper? Specifically that you are looking at contract-free prices?
Click to expand...

Was in the UK last month and the prices were extremely high. Could be because the dollar is weak now so the conversion rate was worse. But still it means that the pound would be strong and so it would be cheaper to get it elsewhere if at all possible.

Edit: it costs 500 pound for 16, 600 pound for the 32. As of the time of this post the conversion rate is: 1 British pounds sterling = 1.5833 US dollars. That means 791.65 for the 16 or 949.98 for the 32. Also keep in mind that the sales tax (VAT or is it VET?) is around 17-19%. So its basically a terrible deal.
 
robbieduncan said:
So how much will you have to pay for shipping (Apple Canada will not ship to the UK). And how much is import duty into the UK (and VAT which you'll have to pay too)?
Click to expand...

I have relatives over in Canada, and they are visiting the UK for job purposes, thats why i was considering buying from Canada.
 
MaCamZa said:
I have relatives over in Canada, and they are visiting the UK for job purposes, thats why i was considering buying from Canada.
Click to expand...

If they bring it for you they will still have to declare it to customs as they enter the country if they intend leaving it with you or they will be committing a crime. They will then have to pay import VAT.
 
robbieduncan said:
If they bring it for you they will still have to declare it to customs as they enter the country if they intend leaving it with you or they will be committing a crime. They will then have to pay import VAT.
Click to expand...

Umm... How does that work out? Surely, all my friend is doing is bringing an un-activated phone from Canada, which hasn't been used at all, and leaving it in the UK. How would people know if they leave it in the UK anyway? How much is import VAT and why do you have to pay it?
 
MaCamZa said:
Umm... How does that work out? Surely, all my friend is doing is bringing an un-activated phone from Canada, which hasn't been used at all, and leaving it in the UK. How would people know if they leave it in the UK anyway? How much is import VAT and why do you have to pay it?
Click to expand...

Every non-EU citizen arriving in the UK must fill in a customs declaration which includes items they intend to leave behind. Failure to fill this in or filling it in inaccurately is a crime.

Import VAT is 15% (currently) of the )cost of the item + cost of shipping + cost of insurance on shipping). Why do you have to pay it? Ask the government. Why do you have to pay VAT on items purchased in this country?
 
robbieduncan said:
Every non-EU citizen arriving in the UK must fill in a customs declaration which includes items they intend to leave behind. Failure to fill this in or filling it in inaccurately is a crime.

Import VAT is 15% (currently) of the )cost of the item + cost of shipping + cost of insurance on shipping). Why do you have to pay it? Ask the government. Why do you have to pay VAT on items purchased in this country?
Click to expand...

Fair, but what do you mean by 'cost of shipping', he's not shipping anything, he's going to give it to me by hand, not delivering it to my house.
 
MaCamZa said:
Fair, but what do you mean by 'cost of shipping', he's not shipping anything, he's going to give it to me by hand, not delivering it to my house.
Click to expand...

Then those components would be zero. Is it really that hard for you to go and look this up yourself?
 
robbieduncan said:
Then those components would be zero. Is it really that hard for you to go and look this up yourself?
Click to expand...

I thought your helping me out here? :D But i still dont understand this thing about import tax. When i go abroad to relatives, i dont pay anything to leave umbrella's (say) at a mates in another country. I've never paid for leaving anything in another country since day 1.
 
MaCamZa said:
I thought your helping me out here? :D But i still dont understand this thing about import tax. When i go abroad to relatives, i dont pay anything to leave umbrella's (say) at a mates in another country. I've never paid for leaving anything in another country since day 1.
Click to expand...

Every country has it's own rules. You may well have committed crimes by doing that. You may not.

If you really want to defraud HMRC I would suggest getting your friend to open the box and only bring the iPhone and charger. No box. None of the contents that would not normally be taken on a trip (so no stickers, no manual). Ensure the iPhone looks like it's for/in use: remove the film from it, take the headphones out of their bag etc. Then your friend doesn't declare it and hopes to not be one of those occasionally stopped for random search as explaining away an unactivated phone with no SIM in it would be hard.
 
robbieduncan said:
Every country has it's own rules. You may well have committed crimes by doing that. You may not.

If you really want to defraud HMRC I would suggest getting your friend to open the box and only bring the iPhone and charger. No box. None of the contents that would not normally be taken on a trip (so no stickers, no manual). Ensure the iPhone looks like it's for/in use: remove the film from it, take the headphones out of their bag etc. Then your friend doesn't declare it and hopes to not be one of those occasionally stopped for random search as explaining away an unactivated phone with no SIM in it would be hard.
Click to expand...

Ok... then once hes found with an unactivated phone for someone else, he would have to pay the import vat of 15% of the phone's cost?

EDIT: When you travel to the UK from outside the European Union (EU), you can bring in a certain amount of duty/tax free goods for your own use - known as an 'allowance'. If you go over this allowance you may have to pay duty and/or tax. Some goods are banned completely, or restricted, such as certain foods.

You can bring in other goods worth up to £390 without having to pay tax and/or duty

You must make a declaration to customs when entering the UK from non-EU countries if:
• you exceed your allowances - in this case
• the goods are for commercial use – see link below for information on merchandise in baggage
• you have 10,000 euros or more (or its equivalent) in cash
• you think you may have banned or restricted goods

To do this you should use the red channel or the red-point phone. The customs official from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) will tell you if any tax or duty is owed and how to pay.
 
Just to clarify...the 659 cdn price doesn't include tax. In Canada tax is at least 13%. This brings the 16gig ip4 to 744.67 cdn$...
 
robbieduncan said:
Every non-EU citizen arriving in the UK must fill in a customs declaration which includes items they intend to leave behind. Failure to fill this in or filling it in inaccurately is a crime.

Import VAT is 15% (currently) of the )cost of the item + cost of shipping + cost of insurance on shipping). Why do you have to pay it? Ask the government. Why do you have to pay VAT on items purchased in this country?
Click to expand...

Dude, stop trying to scare him.
Noone declares and pays tax for every single thing they bring and if they plan to leave it behind.
He will be fine.
Yes you can buy an unlocked iphone in Canada that will work everywhere with any simcard and you will be able to use it with any itunes store.
 
Applejuiced said:
Dude, stop trying to scare him.
Noone declares and pays tax for every single thing they bring and if they plan to leave it behind.
He will be fine.
Yes you can buy an unlocked iphone in Canada that will work everywhere with any simcard and you will be able to use it with any itunes store.
Click to expand...

I don't believe that he is trying to scare the OP, but simply present a honest interpretation of the law. Technically the OP's friend is allowed to bring in any goods for free (with respect to import duties or value added tax) so long as it is within the free allowance. All goods valued above the "free allowance" will be charged VAT and tax. Most countries, including the UK will deduct the allowance from the value of any goods that are left behind, and charge the import duty and VAT on the difference. In this case, some 19 pounds or so. Whether customs will actually end up doing the paperwork and charging the import duty/VAT on such a low value, is a different question.

From personal experience, I have had to transport joint replacement implants to the UK for a research/cadaveric study a few weeks ago, and this CIF (cost including freight) invoice value of the items was taken, the free allowance subtracted, and VAT applied on the remaining balance. Given that the purpose of the items was for medical research, I was allowed to file for a refund upon my departure from LHR, even though I wasn't taking the goods back with me.

So I think its fair to inform the OP of his/his friend's legal obligation, and not simply suggest that misrepresenting or falsifying a Customs declaration "will be fine".
 
So the OP is willing to risk a nasty letter and fine from the C in HMRC, and put his relatives at risk of committing a crime (on a work trip too, that will go down well with their employers), all for the potential saving of £92 on a £600 phone?

Glad I don't have friends or family like you.
 
Applejuiced said:
Dude, stop trying to scare him.
Noone declares and pays tax for every single thing they bring and if they plan to leave it behind.
He will be fine.
Yes you can buy an unlocked iphone in Canada that will work everywhere with any simcard and you will be able to use it with any itunes store.
Click to expand...

The above is 100% correct. I've bought my previous 3G iphone in Hong Kong unlocked and then brought it to Belgium where i used a local operator. Works like a charm.

Also, customs won't be a problem, although i would recommend that you bring the iPhone in the country without the box.
 
Veinticinco said:
So the OP is willing to risk a nasty letter and fine from the C in HMRC, and put his relatives at risk of committing a crime (on a work trip too, that will go down well with their employers), all for the potential saving of £92 on a £600 phone?

Glad I don't have friends or family like you.
Click to expand...

Not even £92 as he's not allowed for sales tax which is a minimum of 5% (Alberta). So that's another £20 gone.
 
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