# Shipping HHGs to Itay



## brooksej

Hi everyone. I will be relocating to Italy from the US (FL) this spring and would like to know if anyone has any past experience/recommendations for an international shippping company. I have some household goods (HHG) I would like to ship and this is a self-paid move. My HHGs would fill about a 20ft shipping container. Any info on the pros/cons of shipping HHGs to Italy is greatly appreciated.

I've done several international moves in the past, but these were either done by the government or civilian employer, so I did not have to deal with all of the bureacuracy.

Thanks in advance


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## accbgb

I have read good things about uship but have never used them myself.

What do you plan to put in that 20 ft container? I have seen many negatives about bringing furniture to Italy as it usually turns out that it just "doesn't work" or "doesn't fit" in your new accommodations.

Electrics (kitchen appliances, for example) will all require adapters and transformers and are rarely a good idea.

Electronics - especially TVs (and recorders such as TiVo) may not work at all due to different standards for television broadcasting.

And so on.

You can find blogs all over the Internet where people say that if they had to do it again they would leave behind everything except their clothes and personal possessions (jewelery, photographs, etc).

Are you an Italian citizen or planning to stay on an Elective Residency visa/permesso? If you are a citizen, you need to be sure to get the proper documents from your consulate - otherwise you will end up playing VAT tax on the value of everything you bring into Italy. If you are a non-citizen, then (AFAIK) you will have to pay the VAT. Another reason to consider carefully what you bring over and what you leave behind.


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## NickZ

In addition if you're bringing electrical devices remember the energy costs here are higher. That means the standard build quality when it comes to consumption is better. Bringing a North American appliance might end up costing you more in energy costs over time then buying a replacement. I replaced an EU seven year old TV this year with a bigger one. The new one uses so much less power my bill dropped substantially. It won't take that many years before my new TV will have paid for itself in lower power bills.

Having said that. My rule of thumb is all or nothing. Once you decide to ship a little the incremental cost of shipping isn't that great.

Final point have you found a place yet? Measured rooms? Doors? Stairs? Is the street wide enough to park a truck in front of? Will you need special permission? Can you even get a truck down the street or will the goods need to be hand carried from a distant parking lot?


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## brooksej

accbgb said:


> I have read good things about uship but have never used them myself.
> 
> What do you plan to put in that 20 ft container? I have seen many negatives about bringing furniture to Italy as it usually turns out that it just "doesn't work" or "doesn't fit" in your new accommodations.
> 
> Electrics (kitchen appliances, for example) will all require adapters and transformers and are rarely a good idea.
> 
> Electronics - especially TVs (and recorders such as TiVo) may not work at all due to different standards for television broadcasting.
> 
> And so on.
> 
> You can find blogs all over the Internet where people say that if they had to do it again they would leave behind everything except their clothes and personal possessions (jewelery, photographs, etc).
> 
> Are you an Italian citizen or planning to stay on an Elective Residency visa/permesso? If you are a citizen, you need to be sure to get the proper documents from your consulate - otherwise you will end up playing VAT tax on the value of everything you bring into Italy. If you are a non-citizen, then (AFAIK) you will have to pay the VAT. Another reason to consider carefully what you bring over and what you leave behind.


Thanks all for the info and I apologize for not sending a note sooner, unfortunately I got side-tracked on another big issue. But to add a bit of clarification, I am a US citizen and my wife is Italian and we have been married 20+ years. She now has her residence in Italy and the plan is for me to now join her there. I'm currently living in Florida. I spent some time in Italy as a military member 20+ years ago, but now I'm retired. We own a home in Italy where my wife has her residency. However, I do not as of yet have the residency visa and I want to ship some household effects (primarily some European furniture items (no electronics), which would be under my name. 

My questions is whether I would have to pay a customs VAT on the household goods that I ship there without me having the residency visa as of yet. 

Any input is greatly appreciated


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## accbgb

How long ago did your wife repatriate to Italy? If I recall correctly, she has one year in which to transfer her personal possessions from the US to Italy without having to pay the VAT tax.

There is some useful info in this document: http://webportal.atlasintl.com/Customs Docs/italy.pdf


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## BBCWatcher

And you don't need a visa for these purposes. Check the other threads in this forum for more information on the process.


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## BBCWatcher

I completely agree with Accbgb, by the way. Take advantage of your spouse's duty free privileges on used household goods. It's much cleaner/simpler if she's the one with her name on the boxes, as it were.

The list(s) must exactly match the contents. Focus on the big stuff you want to send, and if there's anything you "forgot" to put on the list don't be tempted to put it into the shipment. Put it in your suitcase instead, and declare it (if necessary) as part of your normal airline baggage. Also pay very close attention to the list of prohibited and restricted items. The U.S. Postal Service's International Mail Manual (IMM) has a longer list of items that cannot be sent to Italy, and that's probably a good list to review. As one (surprising) example, you cannot put "animal skins" in your shipment. That actually includes animal-derived leather goods, technically speaking, so put your leather shoes, belts, gloves, etc. in your airline suitcase (and don't overdo it).


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## NickZ

She's resident in Italy. The duty/VAT waiver is signed off on by the consulate. If you even manage to get this done from Italy you risk paying storage costs while the stuff clears.


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## BBCWatcher

I'm aware of that, NickZ, but she has one year to pull her used household goods into Italy duty free. I also assume she would cooperate in getting the consulate end done -- for example, on her next visit to the U.S. to help her husband inventory the items and pack.

It's a very good idea in the circumstances -- I agree with Accbgb.


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## NickZ

The problem isn't her cooperating it's the consulate. The consulate AIRE office only tends to deal with people on it's list. It'll only provide the waiver if you've been on the AIRE list for at least one year.


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## BBCWatcher

Yes, that's an assumption here. It's a reasonable one given what was posted ("....we have been married 20+ years. She now has her residence....")


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## accbgb

BBCWatcher said:


> I'm aware of that, NickZ, but she has one year to pull her used household goods into Italy duty free. I also assume she would cooperate in getting the consulate end done -- for example, on her next visit to the U.S. to help her husband inventory the items and pack.
> 
> It's a very good idea in the circumstances -- I agree with Accbgb.


Actually, I'm not certain if the time limit is one year or just six months. This document, http://www.southernwindsinternational.com/pdfregs/regs/italy.pdf , is similar to the one in my earlier post, however it specifically states:



> *DUTY-FREE ENTRY IS PERMITTED IF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS ARE MET:*
> 
> The goods have been used and in the possession of the shipper for at least 1 year and shipper has resided outside of Italy for at least 1 year
> Shipment arrives no later than 6 months from shipper’s arrival date


On the other hand, the document is 12 years old and I don't know what may have changed in the ensuing years.

Also, I apologize for my use of the term "VAT" when I should have been referring to Import Duty. In my limited defense, I believe the result is about the same as the Duty (I think) is calculated similarly to VAT on the same value.


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