A figure of Captain America (think Marvel comic books), the Tin Man, some Norse gods and Grey Worm from
‘Game of Thrones’ all came before the tax tribunal recently.
It was a case about commodity codes, and the dispute turned on whether they were dolls representing
human beings; non-human toys; toys in sets — or, possibly, statuettes. Then there were minor
complications like fangs, and animal ears. Did they tip the balance in favour of a non-human
classification?
If your business imports goods from abroad, you won’t need any reminder of the importance — or the
difficulties — of getting customs classifications right. This was exactly where one business, importing
licensed collectible toys and figurines, ran into problems with HMRC. In a dispute which pre-dated
Brexit, it had applied a zero rate for import duty, whereas in most instances, HMRC wanted to
reclassify using a 4.7% code.
For the record, the judge decided that the figure of Grey Worm ‘clearly represents only a human being
but we considered it was not classifiable as a Doll as it is affixed to a non-removeable base. The . .
. figure is very detailed and we have concluded that its ornamental value outweighs its recreational
value and it should be classified according to its constituent parts (plastic) to 3926 40 Statuette
with a duty rate of 6.5%.’
Commodity codes are clearly not child’s play: for assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch.