Weird laws - Shipping to Belgium

[TimthewanderingBelgian]

Hi all

 

I recently read on Facebook that shipping Nihonto to Belgium may result in serious customs issues.

 

More specifically, it appears that according to Belgian (not EU) legislation it is not allowed to buy and import weapons (including antiques) from webshops outside of the EU UNLESS you are a legit gun/weapons business.

We also appear to be the only EU country with this specific legislation.
 

I reached out to someone who commented on this Facebook thread who had experience with importing and told me that as long as it's categorized under "Antique" and not "Sword" I'll probably be fine.

As this was his personal experience.

Now, although I deeply appreciate this person's comments on the matter - I do feel quite uneasy about the whole thing.

Particularly because I expect a wakizashi shipment  from Japan in September, and I would consider it a very bad start of my custodianship if it gets confiscated by customs and stored in a moldy customs locker for the foreseeable future.

 

So here's the question(s):

1. Are there people from Belgium here? What is your experience importing from Japanese/US webshops?

2. Are there any shops in Belgium you know of providing the service of receiving and forwarding nihonto shipments?

2. Are there people from the neighboring countries (Netherlands, France, Germany) willing to receive the package in my stead and forward it (or if close enough I can come pick up)? (I would of course provide reimbursement for your troubles)

Thanks in advance!

 

Tim VB
 

 

Edited Monday at 11:49 AM by TimthewanderingBelgian

[Lewis B]

Two people who come to mind in The Netherlands are Mandarin Mansions Peter Dekker and our own @Lexvdjagt. I think Lex may be able to assist and I'm sure will reach out if that's the case. 

[Lexvdjagt]

Hello @TimthewanderingBelgian,

 

I do not have personal experience importing straight from Japan to Belgium, but the overall process can differ from dealer to dealer. Attempting to trick customs by labeling it as just an "antique" might work, but could fail upon inspection and result in seizure. This also heavily depends on the way the package is shipped; the process can be different when the package is sent with Surface mail compared to EMS. A lot of dealers flat out refuse to ship to Belgium due to these customs restrictions. Have you asked your contact in Japan how he intends to ship the sword? And what would he be comfortable describing the sword as on the customs document?

 

I offer a forwarding service, but this is through pick-up in person. I fly to Japan every 2 months to bring back Japanese swords; I do this mostly because of the many shipping restrictions and customs irregularities. I have a customs broker both in Japan and in the Netherlands to ensure a smooth procedure. The cost of this service depends on the type and price of the sword. You can contact me here directly on NMB or through my website if you are interested.

 

Greetings,

Lex