Duty relief on scientific equipment
The University can claim duty relief on the importation of scientific instruments and apparatus as long as the goods are used for non-commercial purposes. This definition of non-commercial purposes comprises:
- non-commercial and non-profit making education
- non-commercial and non-profit making scientific research
The relief isn’t confined to medical equipment and materials and so is much broader than the zero-rating available on medical equipment and supplies. It includes spare parts, components, accessories as well as tools for maintain, checking, calibrating and repairing equipment.
An application for duty relief must be made to The National Import Reliefs Unit (NIRU) who will issue a duty relief certificate if the criteria is met. The duty relief certificate must be passed to the supplier before the goods are imported in order to get the relief.
To make an application please complete this form. Once it is complete please send it to the Finance Service Desk at FinanceServiceDesk@sussex.ac.uk. The tax team will check the form before sending it onto NIRU. Once we have the duty relief certificate, we will return it to you so that you can forward it onto the supplier.