Bringing kits back from Japan to UK

[generationx]

Hello everyone.
I'm fortunate enough to be about to be taken to Japan with work for a couple of weeks in the Tokyo/Shizuoka area.
Obviously I want to take advantage of the low prices and kit/accessory availability:
Has anyone ever experienced tax/duty/maximum number of kits problems with customs on returning to the UK? I know I've had to pay duty on HLJ packets before.
I've searched the forum but haven't found anything, though I'm sure I've read something on this subject before.
Thanks,
GenerationX

[sjelic]

You should check with your custom office in UK regarding the amount you can bring in without paying. Usualy we are talking about some 300$ and that is whole lot of kits if you can put them in your bags . Anyhow contact your custom office and they will tell you the amount.
Lucky you

[Hiroboy]

Last time I went to Hong Kong, I bought a load of kits.
I stacked them up about 8 tall and wrapped in brown paper and tied string around it all forming a a handle and took them as hand luggage on the plane, no problems at all with customs on re-entry to the UK.
I think they are only really interested in very large value items.

[lancerevoRS]

yup, HK has nice cheap kits

[digitalbanzai]

Yeah, don't see why kits wouldn't count as regular luggage

[drunken monkey]

might be worth checking how much postage is.
them boxes might be light but they take up quite a bit of room.

what i did last time i was in hk was to sandwich the trees inbetween layers of clothes in the suitcase then fit the boxes 'box-in-box' for those that could.
the rest of the boxes were used to hold a t-shirt or two (to prevent getting squashed.
this was for the ones that i couldn't bare waiting for.
the rest were shipped.
took bloody ages......

[tpliquid]

just make the stuff personal not for business. and check it to be real cheap. take the price tag off.
or like my dad did. take allt rees out put in 1 luguage
and fold the boxes

[fatboyslim]

HM Customs and Excise state...'£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs' at the moment £145 is roughly 28,170 Yen

[generationx]

Thanks all!

[rsxse240]

I was in the US ARMY in Korea, while I was there I bought over 300 kits (over the course of one year) when time came for me to return to the US, they wouldn't let me ship all of the kits back, they said something about "black market" and "import tarrifs" so I ended up losing about half of the kits I had purchased. but a friend helped out and shipped most of them to me after I left so I ended up with about 200 kits, the rest were sold and I got $$ for them. I am not sure if that was just because I was in the military or whatever, just thought I'd share my bad experience with customs.