Import of a airsoft gun

[dri12]

Hello, I want to import an airsoft gun through the English Channel, do you know any laws regard import , and is UKARA a third party or a government body?

Thanks in advance

[Tackle]

Wot by submarine ? 🤔..........

 

dude, the questions your asking have been asked MANY MANY times before, take a bit of time & use the search function, all will soon be revealed 😁

[dri12]

By the train and if im being honest im a bit lazy and just wanted some info

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

If you have a defence, and the rif is boxed/suitably wrapped you are fine.  

 

If you try and recreate Pelham 123 you'll get in bother.

[Asomodai]

2 hours ago, dri12 said:

Hello, I want to import an airsoft gun through the English Channel, do you know any laws regard import , and is UKARA a third party or a government body?

Thanks in advance

 

3rd party as it is run by Airsoft retailers, but Border Force has access to it if the parcel is spotted as part of its random checks. It happened to me once and even with a valid UKARA took a few months to get it checked by them and released. 

 

If it gets caught being imported without a UKARA number it will likely be destroyed as it's very difficult and time consuming to prove other defenses (That frankly Border force probably won't recognise)

 

For your own sake, just get a UKARA number as it makes things much simpler for you.

[Neptune]

53 minutes ago, Asomodai said:

If it gets caught being imported without a UKARA number it will likely be destroyed as it's very difficult and time consuming to prove other defenses (That frankly Border force probably won't recognise)

 

Not true at all.

[AirSniper]

HMRC can be funny and with the current situation in the UK and this government's money grabbing claw-back that's now in operation, they want revenue from where they can milk it.

So is it wise to import anything of high value at present?

[dri12]

8 hours ago, Asomodai said:

 

3rd party as it is run by Airsoft retailers, but Border Force has access to it if the parcel is spotted as part of its random checks. It happened to me once and even with a valid UKARA took a few months to get it checked by them and released. 

 

If it gets caught being imported without a UKARA number it will likely be destroyed as it's very difficult and time consuming to prove other defenses (That frankly Border force probably won't recognise)

 

For your own sake, just get a UKARA number as it makes things much simpler for you.

what if i have it in the car that i brought it in? will the border force check?

 

[Jedi_Master]

16 minutes ago, dri12 said:

what if i have it in the car that i brought it in? will the border force check?

 

 

(re)read the forum rules, this is bordering (pun intended) on breaking them:

 

• Illegal/Banned Subjects
You cannot discuss anything that will help someone break the law in his or her locale. This means talking about:
How to evade paying tax on imported goods
How to get restricted items past customs
How to get restricted items if you are under-age
Any other illegal activities
 

[Rogerborg]

13 hours ago, dri12 said:

I want to import an airsoft gun through the English Channel

 

Why?

 

Unless you have a defence, and can produce it on the spot, don't do it.  You're looking at up to 51 weeks in prison, and/or an unlimited fine.

 

Yes, they check.  Truckers are regularly caught and given custodial sentences for contraband and weapons. An ex Army Brigadier was caught on the Chunnel with a small multi-tool with a 2" blade, arrested, and accepted a caution and a permanent criminal record.

 

https://metro.co.uk/2006/11/20/brigadier-held-for-knife-on-train-400495/

 

(There's a happier ending to that one, fortunately, but it shows that they do check)

 

 

 

[Tackle]

54 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

An ex Army Major was caught on the Chunnel with a credit card sized multi-tool with a tiny sharp section, prosecuted, and convicted.

 

 

 

 

Seriously ?, was he kicking off about something or had he threatened someone with it?. 

That's just mental 😕

1 hour ago, dri12 said:

what if i have it in the car that i brought it in? will the border force check?

 

Don't be a twat ffs, just get a defense & buy/import properly like every other responsible player😬

[Rogerborg]

2 hours ago, Tackle said:

Seriously ?, was he kicking off about something or had he threatened someone with it?. 

 

Ah, I misrecollected some of the details. Brigadier, not Major, it was a larger multi-tool, but a 2" blade, I infer folding, so not illegal at all. Arrested, fingerprinted, DNA taken, accepted a caution and permanent criminal record, which later seems to have been struck when he received better legal advice.

 

The take-away point though is that yes, they check things. It seems like everything going on the train is going to get x-rayed, so you'll get caught.  Given the potential criminal penalties, and the certainty that you'll lose the item, you'd have to be a mug to attempt it without a rock solid defence.

 

I have high hopes for OP though.

[Asomodai]

10 hours ago, Neptune said:

 

Not true at all.

 

What part of it isn't true? I have been through it myself. (Though I had a UKARA) 

[AirSniper]

5 hours ago, dri12 said:

what if i have it in the car that i brought it in? will the border force check?

 

Can you prove it was bought in the UK?

[Rogerborg]

2 minutes ago, AirSniper said:

Can you prove it was bought in the UK?

 

I think the big-brain genius is talking about trying to smuggle a RIF back hidden in his car, without a defence, and just hoping that he won't get caught.

 

I'm torn between wanting him to try it, and hoping that he doesn't.

[Cr0-Magnon]

Probably best to just to delete this thread and get on with our lives, eh.

[Neptune]

12 hours ago, Asomodai said:

What part of it isn't true? I have been through it myself. (Though I had a UKARA) 

 

The part I quoted.

 

You can import without UKARA, and Border Force are aware of the law and the defences listed under section 37.

[Tommikka]

On 04/10/2021 at 20:02, dri12 said:

Hello, I want to import an airsoft gun through the English Channel, do you know any laws regard import , and is UKARA a third party or a government body?

Thanks in advance

Laws:

If it is a UK legal airsoft gun as defined in Firearms legislation then only the VCRA applies to the type of RIF/IF

 

The VCRA requires a defence to import RIFs. Eg airsoft skirmishing. One method of proving that is the UKARA, and that is recognised by the Home Office/Border Force etc 

UKARA is a third party retailer scheme, under which players are registered via site membership schemes

If its an IF then no defence is required 

 

The other concern is financial, and whether import VAT or import duty are required, which relate to the item classification and value

On 04/10/2021 at 20:14, dri12 said:

By the train and if im being honest im a bit lazy and just wanted some info

In the Eurotunnel/Euro shuttle there may be carriage policies.

 

They require firearms to be declared, all the relevant documentation and that it is secured 

 

https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/legal/carriage-of-firearms-and-fireworks/

As hinted above an airsoft gun used to be a ‘low power air weapon’, but a revised definition was made in firearms legislation which took UK legal airsoft guns out of that definition.

Euro tunnel may or may not treat it as an air weapon / firearm. If they do then you could carry it but needed to declare it

 

 

On 05/10/2021 at 07:27, dri12 said:

what if i have it in the car that i brought it in? will the border force check?

 

They might or might not.  That’s the game that smugglers play with Border Force.

They may randomly check, check on a targeted basis or check that things are in accordance with declarations

 

 

If by ‘the car that you brought it in’ you mean that you have taken a RIF abroad and are returning then they may still check.  You would not owe import VAT or import duty as you have taken something out and returned - but if it looks new and you didn’t declare it when exporting then they may charge you for an import

 

 

If you are unable to justify why you are importing a RIF, and can’t show ‘intent to use it at insured skirmishing sites’ then it could be confiscated 

[Rogerborg]

3 hours ago, Tommikka said:

The VCRA requires a defence to import RIFs

 

A nuance: the VCRA provides a defence to the offence of importing a RIF.  A defence is not a licence to do so, although Border Farce have historically chosen to treat it as such.  They could choose not to at any point.

 

At least that's according to what's presented has as Border Force Operations Manual here https://basc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/02/imitation-firearms.pdf

 

"The VCRA sets out a number of defences to prosecution which although do not technically apply at the point of import it is UK Border Agency policy to apply them to private individuals as if they did."

 

The caveat is that there's no document number on it, or anything that could be used to verify that it is, or was, an actual Border Farce document, so you couldn't even cite it to them.

[Tommikka]

@Rogerborg

Interesting that they have referenced paintball in permitted activities along with airsoft.

The Home Office have covered off similar interpretation with the UKPSF, (along with many caveats of subject to being presented and tested in court) but the skirmishing defence document explicitly states airsoft.

 

I shall retain that in my library of useful stuff 

 

the purposes of organising or taking part in certain “permitted activities” relates generally to “airsoft” events but can also include paintballing.

[Rogerborg]

16 hours ago, Tommikka said:

Interesting that they have referenced paintball in permitted activities along with airsoft.

 

I'd call it rather curious, and wonder what's behind that belief.

 

Home Office circular 031 / 2007 only mentions airsoft.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-violent-crime-reduction-act-2006-commencement-no-3-order-2007-firearms-measures

 

I always get twitchy reading that, as it's neither Act nor Regulation, it could vanish off of the interwebs at any point, or a court could simply decide not to find it persuasive given that it doesn't actually claim to be the direction of the relevant Secretary of State.

[Tommikka]

1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

 

I'd call it rather curious, and wonder what's behind that belief.

 

Home Office circular 031 / 2007 only mentions airsoft.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-violent-crime-reduction-act-2006-commencement-no-3-order-2007-firearms-measures

 

I always get twitchy reading that, as it's neither Act nor Regulation, it could vanish off of the interwebs at any point, or a court could simply decide not to find it persuasive given that it doesn't actually claim to be the direction of the relevant Secretary of State.

…. And of course all subject to interpretation in court.

A Home Office circular can always be removed and no longer be current, or replaced by different interpretation 

 

In paintball we have two differing official interpretations:

1) Association of Chief Constables (or whatever it was called at the time) considered that every paintball gun they saw during a visit to a retailer was potentially a RIF. (This retailer didn’t sell bling speedball, but it did include black hopper fed paintball guns)

They took no action, but suggested that the retailer ‘do something’ in case they came back formally and went to court.

The company created their own membership scheme 

 

Therefore you can argue that paintball guns are IFs or RIFs depending on whether then comply with VCRA colours 

 

2) Home Office in response to the UKPSF held that in principle paintball guns are low powered air weapons and therefore not imitations, but with lots of caveats subject to court interpretation and also raised the option that if the VCRA was found to apply then UKPSF membership might be accepted as a defence.

The LPAW  ‘exemption’ contradicted with airsoft guns as the newer firearms act definition exempting UK legal airsoft from firearms legislation didn’t exist.

Now that definition is there then there is a distinction to support LPAW non imitation.

 

 

 

All quite grey, and I’m always happy that offenders with dickhead activity get dealt with under other suitable legislation rather than ‘responsible’ players falling foul of a court day turning into a test case.

 

I don’t worry too much about legislative elements - it’s the rug being pulled out in circulars or court interpretations that are more likely to have an impact, which could be sudden 

 

 

[Rogerborg]

50 minutes ago, Tommikka said:

low powered air weapons and therefore not imitations

 

Do you have a reference for that position?  It would be handy (for paintballers and air gunners) but I'm still struggling to see why they are exclusive, and why the same item can't be covered by two different Acts at the same time.

 

Motor vehicles, for example, fall into a plethora of conflicting and overlapping definitions in multiple Acts, Regulations and case law, which are applied as it suits the State rather than us.

[Tommikka]

2 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

Do you have a reference for that position?  It would be handy (for paintballers and air gunners) but I'm still struggling to see why they are exclusive, and why the same item can't be covered by two different Acts at the same time.

 

.

https://m.facebook.com/UKPSF/posts/532643633518379

 

This was back in 2015, and covers a few questions so it does drift, and also precedes extra airgun certificates in Scotland and the joule changes in airsoft 

 

 

On the matter of lookalike firearms, we’ll disagree

But I do get your point 

[Rogerborg]

 

 

I know, I know, ask the Firearms section at the Home Office.

 

It's all a bit bonkers when you apply a moment's thought. There are sellers in the UK who will flog you (for example) an SRS with a spring that puts it over 2.5J, i.e. technically an air gun firearm, not an airsoft gun. 

 

Strictly speaking, they wouldn't then need a RIF defence for that (but should be following air gun laws, not that they do).  But they do need a RIF defence for selling the exact same object with a fractionally less powerful spring in it.

 

Although strictly strictly speaking, because it's not based on a specific real world firearm, it's not actually a RIF at all.  Even though by any reasonable-person (non legal) definition it is, and sellers do ask for a defence.  Unless the spring inside it puts it over 2.5J. In which case apparently the outside stops looking like a real gun, even though it has now become a real (air) gun.

 

I know, I know... firearms legislation. 🤪