Wild Boar in Czech

willowbank

Well-Known Member
Hi chaps just got back from a really enjoyable Boar shooting trip staying with friends just an hours drive from Prague. My eyes were truly opened with plenty of Boar coming to the feeders just after dark and their methods of coming to terms with what I can only be described as fascinating beasts.
I have certainly come home with some fresh ideas and full of enthusiasm.

We were able to sit up in very tall fully enclosed box seats ( some had sofas in!!) and view them well into the night using both Conventional night vision and thermal imaging equipment.

I liked the way they were very carefull to preserve future stocks by selective culling, which I found just abit worrying in case I misunderstood my intructions to take " 2nd from right" or "4th from left" not easy when the guy spoke very limited English and my Czech is " hello" and " can I have the bill please" lol.

While in Prague I looked up the CZ outlet and was amazed at the prices compared with here in the UK, does anyone have any experience of buying there and bring into UK?

If (When) I get organised I plan to take a few friends over for some Boar shooting, I have sorted a suitable modest Hotel and Friends will loan me a 4x4. Should be a blast with the right crew maybe over a long weekend flying from Gatwick with sleazyjet.

All in all It was a good experience, everyday costs are low and the Czech people pleasant.

regards WB.
 
Yes, I shoot regularly in Slovakia - it's fantastic. An abundance of red, roe, fallow and boar and you can shoot until you want to go to sleep. I've even shot there using one of those led torches attached to the scope in the deep of night (can't afford night vision). Plus, as you say, their 'high seats' are usually more like garden sheds on stilts - very cosy when it's -20 outside.

I am not sure how it works in the Czech Rep, but if you have your DSC1 plus insurance (BASC, for example), you can apply for a Slovak hunting permit. It costs about €10 per year but you can get a 4 or 10 year one. That makes everything a lot cheaper if you have contacts already, as (for a negotiable price) you can get invited as a guest of one of the hunting clubs, which own all the permissions.

No idea about bringing a rifle in from there. Would it not be ok if you just buy it, enter it on your FAC, inform your local force, and bring it back over with a European firearms licence? I wonder. Will be interested to see if anybody else knows, as I am a big fan of CZs. Could do a trip over to Prague next time I am over there...
 
There's no problem to bringing in a firearm purchased from another EU State provided you have an open slot on your FAC allowing you to acquire or possess. No need for an import licence but you do need a 'Transfer Licence' issue by the State from which the firearm was purchased. On arrival back in the UK you notify your issuing FLD of details of the purchase and either enter it on your FAC yourself or they might want sight of the firearm/entry - be guided by them. No import duty or vat to pay and with the £ to € exchange rate the way it is you can make a killing.

I'll post a link to the official documentation when I get back on the laptop.
 
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I did this in the late 90s bought a .270 win from my pal who has a gun shop in germany near the CZ border and it was a breeze I had the s/n entered on my FAC in advance of my trip and had no problems anywhere passing through all the travel/ferry checks.
Martin
 
This is very timely for me. I paid a deposit today on a rifle in the EU (I work here), expecting exactly the process described by Orion above; the dealer, though, said that he needs to issue an export transfer, for which he FIRST eeds an import transfer from the UK before he can release. I have the serial numbers and paperwork, so plan to get some more advice then talk to the local plod. I feel as though, from what I've read, the seller here in EU is wrong, but he says he does it all the time with French and German clients, and I guess he should know. Any more advice gratefully received.
 
Pothunter, your seller is indeed wrong, (as was mine in Germany when I first enquired!), and your local UK plod probably won't be of too much help - but why should they, after all they are dealing with domestic UK firearms issues. ;) (Unless you are referring to the police in the EU State should they be the ones to issue the Transfer Licence?).

Here are a couple of documents which detail the UK requirements regarding the importation of firearms by those who are permitted to do so - in our case it is individuals who are authorised to acquire and possess a firearm by reason of an open open 'slot' on our FAC. As stated before, this is our authority and no import licence or additional documentation from the UK is required.

https://www.ilb.bis.gov.uk/docs/DoINeedAnImportLicence.pdf

See 103 in the above document. There is also information regarding declaration at point of entry .

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...VdLrx3kcuq8k8mw&bvm=bv.91071109,d.ZWU&cad=rja

See 4.2.2 in the above document.

It is down to the seller to obtain a 'Transfer Licence' from their own export licencing authority/police department to accompany the firearm to the UK. My seller in Germany started off by insisting that I obtain a UK import licence before he applied for the German Transfer Licence. I forwarded him copies of the above documents plus scanned copies of my FAC, with the vacant slot on it, and one of my passport to tie in with who I was. For good measure I obtained an email and an attached letter from the Import Licensing Branch of the Department of Business, Innovation & skills, (email contact via the first doc above and they are very helpful), stating that no specific UK import licence was required. That did the trick and it was accepted that my FAC with it's open slot was proof enough.

The process can be a bit convoluted, especially if you have a seller who isn't fluent in English, but it's worthwhile pursuing as the rewards can be exceptional in these times of the low euro.

Good luck with it.
 
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Sorry for for the slow reply to the above. Manic time at work. And thanks very much indeed for taking the time. It's much appreciated. The bit I'm least confident about, though it clearly worked for you, is convincing the EU seller using UK paperwork that he doesn't need what he thinks he needs to satisfy his government. I fear he will say "well that's all very well for the UK, but that's not how things are done here".

Famous last words, but i'm fairly relaxed about sorting it eventually, though I expect it to take a long time. The gun's mainly to us there, even the Roe buck season hasn't started there yet, my friend there has better stuff than I've bought which I can use in the meantime, etc. Sonim relaxed. Yet there is a smaller part of me that slightly fears this is going to turn into an endless bureaucratic nightmare that's going to haunt me for years.

I don't even make the exchange rate killing that you mention, as I get paid in euros, but at least I avoid making an exchange rate loss, makes the rifle seem cheaper, if you know what I mean.

Im going to follow your advice and see what happens. I'll let you know. Thanks again.

To the OP, sorry to slightly derail the thread, btw.
 
A forwarded email from the Import Licencing Branch of our Dept BIS stating that no import licence is required, and that your FAC is your authority to possess will hopefully settle it for you. IIRC the person at the Import Licencing Branch is Roy Sweet and he very helpfully attached a letter on their headed paper stating the same. It wasn't an imposition at all as it was all done very speedily via email. It would be worth quoting the EU Weapons Directive to your seller as that is the harmonising legislation that makes the now (hopefully!) hassle free transfer of lawfully held firearms between member States possible.
 
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There's no problem to bringing in a firearm purchased from another EU State provided you have an open slot on your FAC allowing you to acquire or possess. No need for an import licence but you do need a 'Transfer Licence' issue by the State from which the firearm was purchased. On arrival back in the UK you notify your issuing FLD of details of the purchase and either enter it on your FAC yourself or they might want sight of the firearm/entry - be guided by them. No import duty or vat to pay and with the £ to € exchange rate the way it is you can make a killing.

I'll post a link to the official documentation when I get back on the laptop.

There is no problem bringing a firearm in from the USA either, as long as you acquire it legally whilst you are there, and you personally bring it with you to the UK and enter it on your FAC prior to arrival. No import/export licenses required from either country. I had this explicitly confirmed by my FEO as he personally has done this numerous times in the past.

food for though.
 
Potentially even easier than coming from within the EU as no Transfer Licence is required. Just remember that import duty and vat might be applied.
 
Potentially even easier than coming from within the EU as no Transfer Licence is required. Just remember that import duty and vat might be applied.

unless the friendly chap in the US that acquired them 'for you' decided they were a gift and put that in writing to bring to the the customs officials if they ask..again, words out of the horses mouth..
 
This is very timely for me. I paid a deposit today on a rifle in the EU (I work here), expecting exactly the process described by Orion above; the dealer, though, said that he needs to issue an export transfer, for which he FIRST eeds an import transfer from the UK before he can release.

I would just "go with the flow"...

Here in Finland we must apply for purchase permit for each gun. In addition to domestic sales, the purchase permit allows transferring (importing from EU country) and importing (from non-EU countries) without any additional licenses.

BUT because the Finnish legislation may not be clear to foreign sellers, if you possess a purchase permit you can apply for kind of "proof of import permit". This is granted by police, and would be used to ensure the seller, or enable him to apply for export permit from his own country, if required. It's also used for some other purposes like transferring w/o EU firearms passport.
 
I would just "go with the flow"...

Here in Finland we must apply for purchase permit for each gun. In addition to domestic sales, the purchase permit allows transferring (importing from EU country) and importing (from non-EU countries) without any additional licenses.

BUT because the Finnish legislation may not be clear to foreign sellers, if you possess a purchase permit you can apply for kind of "proof of import permit". This is granted by police, and would be used to ensure the seller, or enable him to apply for export permit from his own country, if required. It's also used for some other purposes like transferring w/o EU firearms passport.

Sounds like a sensible option in Finland but it's not applicable to the UK and our Import Licensing Branch cannot issue an import licence, (or "proof of import permit"), as it's simply not required. It's not a flow that can be gone with. ;)

The BIS are more than happy to provide potential private importers of firearms with a confirmation email/letter which explains the UK situation to the seller's Transfer Permit issuers, thereafter it's up to the buyer to provide a UK Firearm Certificate detailing a valid authority to purchase/possess the firearm.

It's a relatively pain free system and the more other EU States see of it, the easier it should be to import firearms at a considerable cost saving over UK prices.
 
OK, I was a bit hasty and thought there's a possibility to get some paperwork from UK, even though not required, to satisfy the seller.
 
A forwarded email from the Import Licencing Branch of our Dept BIS stating that no import licence is required, and that your FAC is your authority to possess will hopefully settle it for you. IIRC the person at the Import Licencing Branch is Roy Sweet and he very helpfully attached a letter on their headed paper stating the same. It wasn't an imposition at all as it was all done very speedily via email. It would be worth quoting the EU Weapons Directive to your seller as that is the harmonising legislation that makes the now (hopefully!) hassle free transfer of lawfully held firearms between member States possible.

Very many thanks for all your advice on this. I now feel confident that I myself know what's what, so it's now just a matter of crunching the gears of the machine. Ill keep you posted.
 
Sorry for for the slow reply to the above. Manic time at work. And thanks very much indeed for taking the time. It's much appreciated. The bit I'm least confident about, though it clearly worked for you, is convincing the EU seller using UK paperwork that he doesn't need what he thinks he needs to satisfy his government. I fear he will say "well that's all very well for the UK, but that's not how things are done here".

Famous last words, but i'm fairly relaxed about sorting it eventually, though I expect it to take a long time. The gun's mainly to us there, even the Roe buck season hasn't started there yet, my friend there has better stuff than I've bought which I can use in the meantime, etc. Sonim relaxed. Yet there is a smaller part of me that slightly fears this is going to turn into an endless bureaucratic nightmare that's going to haunt me for years.

I don't even make the exchange rate killing that you mention, as I get paid in euros, but at least I avoid making an exchange rate loss, makes the rifle seem cheaper, if you know what I mean.

Im going to follow your advice and see what happens. I'll let you know. Thanks again.

To the OP, sorry to slightly derail the thread, btw.

No probs my friend, the more input the better informed we all are,

rgds WB
 
unless the friendly chap in the US that acquired them 'for you' decided they were a gift and put that in writing to bring to the the customs officials if they ask..again, words out of the horses mouth..

Ok thinking forward, could my Czech friend buy a CZ rifle at local prices then "gift" it to me?

Also if in the worst case scenario what would the import taxes amount to?

appreciate all input on this, thanks.

rgds WB
 
Ok thinking forward, could my Czech friend buy a CZ rifle at local prices then "gift" it to me?

Also if in the worst case scenario what would the import taxes amount to?

You'll possibly find that it's actually more diffficult for a Czech citizen to sell/gift/transfer a firearm to someone from another country after buying it for himself, compared to a dealer making the sale direct. I doubt there would be any advantage in doing it that way but maybe your friend can find out?

Additional taxes are not applicable to you because any transaction, (private or commercial), would be a transfer between EU member States - therefore no import duty or additional VAT are levied on importation into the UK.
 
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