How to bring a picture of himself from London. Useful Tips
ARTinvestment.RU   04 июля 2012

Duty-free importation of works of art for personal use has become a real incentive for many collectors. But to make an expensive overseas shipping purchase went smoothly, you must exercise due caution

right to duty-free import of works of art for personal use was the impetus for many collectors. Procedures work, and people have successfully imported the graphics and pictures. But to make an expensive overseas shipping purchase went smoothly, you must exercise due caution. The fact that we must remember Russian collector, bought pictures on their own in the UK, ARTinvestment.RU asked to tell Yegor Molchanov, deputy director of the gallery "Elysium».

ARTinvestment.RU: A common situation: the Russian collector should lead to Russia from England, a picture worth 40,000 pounds, bought at an auction (for example, Christie's). Not for resale, but for their own use. As it is best to do in this case?

Yegor Molchanov : The most reliable and cost-effective option - bring a picture with him on the plane. In this case, will not be charged VAT (18%). If you send a picture with the help of a specialized transport company, the cost of transportation may be from one to five thousand dollars, depending on the size and operating parameters and range of transport. However, these companies are able to bring the work so that the owners did not have to pay 18%tax, even without the personal support, and large transport companies, the level of DHL or Fedex, importation of the goods shall be payable to him 30 percent of a single customs rate, or calculate the tax on rate of 4 euros per kilogram of body weight work.

AI: What documents are required to provide a picture at the British customs? In particular, what paper should be sure to ask for Christie's? Am I to take pictures?

E. AM : The customs office must present documents proving ownership of the work, and paper, allowing the export of works of art from the country. In practice, the London customs are more interested in the British national art and artists, whose works hang in national museums. If there are no documents, then in such cases you may be fined a large sum, to confiscate the work, or even subject to criminal prosecution. On Russian art, we can say look the other way, can and do not ask for papers. But do not neglect the documents.

If the product is not purchased in the gallery, and one of the largest auction, Sotheby's level and Christie's, it is sufficient to prepare them in advance to ask all the relevant paper work and for export Return VAT (tax, similar to our VAT), if applicable for a particular product. The auction house itself will prepare all necessary documents, including provide photos (that you will need two color photographs, the auction house better be forewarned).

AI: There are situation where the picture is an oversized size (say, half a meter), and luggage to take dangerous. How can we take it on board? And miss it on a recording?

E. AM : In this case, better to learn from the airline permitted dimensions of the carriage. And much depends on the carrier. For example, with the Russian "Aeroflot" is much easier to negotiate than with British Airways or Air France. With high probability, a picture of the size of half a meter will not be allowed in the cabin of any single plane, so you have to pack it carefully in advance and sit in the luggage.

AI: What the maximum size of the picture may miss in the cabin?

E. AM : By the standard rules of carriage in the cabin baggage is allowed free of cargo up to 10 kg with dimensions not exceeding 115 cm Transportation of oversized luggage is carried out only in agreement with the airline.

In practice, this is the case, if the work can not be removed or put on a shelf behind the seat on the plane (and the only place in the last series, because otherwise prohibits safety rules), it is likely, with a picture of a plane you do not allowed. In any case, you should try not to exceed the permissible size.

If you're taking a few pictures in the package, which together are not allowed to go through the frame, but one conform to the dimensions, in which case you with a high probability still be allowed in the cabin.

If you have a perfectly packed picture size 1.5 x 2 meters and you're going to take it in the luggage, keep in mind that you may force open the package and show what's inside. At the same airport workers did not care how you pack the picture back. Finding a packaging company in the airport is virtually impossible. Theoretically, most airports have special cargo scanners, but they do not always work and do not always cope with the oversized concrete.

AI: What if no persuasion does not help and the big picture urging of the airport to put in the luggage?

E. AM : We'll have to take. If airport security and airline representatives would require work in hand luggage, then you only have three choices: take a picture of the luggage, take a picture in a locker at the airport, to change the ticket and organize the packing operation and its subsequent surrender of the luggage.

Do not try to "negotiate", offering money to an airport or airline employee. This may not be properly interpreted.

AI: What you need to do to get the tax VAT (conditional "British VAT»)?

E. AM : need to submit documents proving the acquisition of the territory of the UK and that applies to a specific product VAT (for example, if work on the temporary importation, the VAT does not exist). If you buy a piece of art on a large auction, the auction staff will prepare for you the relevant documents. Otherwise you will have to fill in the application itself (which can be obtained from customs officials, or to download in advance of its site). Need to know in advance where the airport is served papers on the return of VAT, and just for works of art (this is important). In the right window of the customs officer will need to provide proof of your ownership of a particular work, completed application for the return of VAT and your boarding pass. Be prepared that you will be asked to show work. If you have already put into bags, then prepare a paper to prove it.

If you take out all the papers correctly, the Customs Service employee fills out their documents and puts them in the appropriate print, and then leaves a copy of itself, and gives you one. This paper you should send mail to the auction house, where we bought the work, and after two - three weeks, returned the money will be deposited into your personal account in the auction house.

AI: How passes to the Russian customs clearance? Do I need special advance arrangements with the Ministry of Culture of the expert meeting at the airport, and how this can be arranged?

E. AM : Arriving in Russia, you must go with a work of art through the "red corridor" and ask customs officials to invite an expert of the Ministry of Culture. Theoretically, the Ministry of Culture should be an expert to be present round the clock at the customs, but in practice most likely to reach an expert in the daytime and up to 10:00 pm. In other cases you may be asked to wait for an expert (when it arrives, it is unknown), or take things for safekeeping and return, when there will be an expert. In the latter case, the transfer of property can take anywhere from an hour or more. Therefore, it is better to fly during the day when an expert of the Ministry of Culture is in office. You need to complete a declaration in duplicate and make two copies of photos for each imported work. One copy, after filling in all the papers will remain with the customs authorities, the other will give you.

Remember that you can legally bring to Russia free of duty for personal consumption of works of art for any amount (at least 100 million dollars) in the presence of import documents to remove it later. However, even well-formed import documents are not free you from the 10%duty, serving at export.

AI: Can the collector to give to another private party authorization to transport pictures and In this case, to avoid of import tax?

E. AM : No, not unless the collector agrees that the work will be imported in the name of another individual. If you issue a power of attorney, you will need to pay 18%tax.

AI: Can a collector of duty-free export of Russian work, which he had previously imported and correctly declare it?

E. AM : No, it can. He will be obliged to pay a fee of 10 percent of the appraised value of the established expert of the Ministry of Culture.

Questions by Vladimir Bogdanov, AI