Importing Barrel & Action from the US

GOMX

Well-Known Member
Hi guys , ok I have brought a barrel & maybe a action from a dealer friend of mine in the US , how do I go about importing them .. I will have the slots when my vareration finally arrives back ..
 
We you be going over any time soon, and be able to bring it back with you?

You might find this useful:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...arrangements-firearms-and-ammunition-2015.pdf

Also please bear in mind that, although the firearm would not need to be submitted for proof as your were importing it for your own personal use, if you ever decided to sell it or otherwise dispose of it, you would first need to submit it for proof (sorry if I am trying to teach you to suck eggs).

UK import regulations are not the same as US export regulations and the export of barrels and actions etc is prohibited without an export licence. I would therefore NOT advise you to carry any pressure bearing parts (and others on their list) back if you go there.

Also the Department of Business (etc) notification (issued 5th December 2015????) item 26 states

Expanding Ammunition
Expanding ammunition is prohibited under Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended).Registered Firearms Dealers may import them provided they have a suitably conditioned Certificate ofRegistration as a Firearms Dealer or Firearms Certificate. A Dealers Open Individual Licence is not validas it does not include items falling to Section 5 of the Act

which I believe to be incorrect because I (and many other people I know) regularly bring back ammo and bullets (pre-booked with the airline and in checked in baggage) and declare it on arrival with my FAC.

I have emailed SACS today about this and will post an update when received.

(There are also many posts about this on SD)
 
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Also the Department of Business (etc) notification (issued 5th December 2015????) item 26 states

Expanding Ammunition
Expanding ammunition is prohibited under Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended).Registered Firearms Dealers may import them provided they have a suitably conditioned Certificate ofRegistration as a Firearms Dealer or Firearms Certificate. A Dealers Open Individual Licence is not validas it does not include items falling to Section 5 of the Act

which I believe to be incorrect because I (and many other people I know) regularly bring back ammo and bullets (pre-booked with the airline and in checked in baggage) and declare it on arrival with my FAC.

I believe that the reasoning behind authorised individuals being permitted to import or move expanding around without any import licensing requirements is because of the following two sections being applied:

7: An import licence is required to import prohibited firearms and ammunition, irrespective of the country of consignment. An import licence will only be granted where a Home Office Section 5 authority has been issued.

8. Home Office authority to possess Section 5 weapons are not usually issued to private individuals.
However, no Section 5 authority is required where the person is authorised by their Firearm Certificate to have prohibited firearm where it is to be used in animal welfare, starting races at athletic meetings, or is of historic interest.

As we are authorised to possess expanding by virtue of the general condition on our certificates, (along with our ammo allowances of course), we have no need of an additional HO S.5 authority. Ergo an import licence will not be issued as per 7 above.

It complies with the EU Weapons Directive in exactly the same way that our domestic FACs with a vacant slot are our authorisation to possess, (and remove the necessity of an additional 'import licence'), when purchasing a rifle abroad. The same principle applies with expanding hunting ammo/bullets, which for reasons I am sure we are all aware of are only treated as 'prohibited' in the UK.
 
I have just managed to get a Picatinny mount for a Ruger M77 from the States. Somebody bought it back for me. Whilst a mount is not viewed in the UK like an action or barrel is as regards licensing as previously stated the USA views triggers, actions, mounts, some scopes, stocks!!!!! as items covered by their export regulations. I had three Weigand distributors refuse to send and one took the time to explain that it wasnt worth the $2,500 charge for an export licence. Whilst I understand the cost saving it might not totally compensate you for the hassle. Europe is much more straight forward.
 
Ref my post (No5) above, SACS received the following reply to my enquiry

Quote

Expanding projectiles still do not require an import licence – Q9 on the table at the back of the Notice. We have never licensed component parts of ammunition previously. This current exclusion from an import licensing requirement does not affect domestic authority to possess requirements.

Private individuals may import provided that their Firearms Certificate is suitably conditioned and they freely declare the items to customs. An importer who wishes to transfer of complete rounds from an EU Member State must hold the relevant UK authority, e.g. an RFD Cert (commercial) or suitably conditioned Firearms Certificate (private individual) and a transfer licence issued by the relevant authority in the Member State that is sending the ammunition. The RFD will need an import licence in addition to their RFD Certificate and the transfer licence.

We are unfortunately unable to list the issuing authorities for the other 27 Member States. The exporter in the sending Member State should contact their export authority for guidance.

Regards

Roy Smiles | Import Licensing Branch| Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | enquiries.ilb@bis.gsi.gov.uk | www.gov.uk
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) is making a difference by supporting sustained growth and higher skills across the economy.
BIS: working together for growth

Unquote

This was not 100% clear to me as I carry in from the USA so I sent a follow up email to SACS for clarification and received this reply

Quote

It’s simpler than that – Roy has confirmed that as a private individual you don’t need an import licence at all, for complete rounds or heads.

If you are bringing them in from another EU country, you would need a transfer licence issued by that country, but that doesn’t apply as you’re talking about USA.

If you’re still a bit wary, print off this email chain and keep it with your FAC to show Customs?

Hope that helps

Unquote
 
Slightly begs the question as to why the UK firearm trade continues to rely on US ammunition and components, when we have plenty of excellent suppliers and manufacturers on the continent. Indeed what about a uk manufacturer of bullets?
 
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