Wish to set up an electronics company in UK....how?

[Flyback]

Hi,
A Chinese friend ( he was a coursemate on my electronics degree course) has approached me.... He wants to import vast amounts of electric toy cars into UK for sale.
However, being Chinese he cannot do this.
He says he needs me (i am a British National) to set up a "company" in the UK, and then he can import the toy cars into the UK via this 'company'. I will simply act as middle man, and will cream off a huge profit, he tells me £200,000 per year.
How do i go about setting up a company?, and how do i avoid the customs officials?, because i hear that British Ports are not regulated by EU customs officials, so therefore we will not need to pay the EU import tariff.
Has anybody already done this?...and can offer advice on how to go about it?
Apparently it will help if we can build up our own product range of British goods, even if these sell at a loss....this shouldn't be difficult for me, because as an electronics engineer i have designed a vast array of useless items which wouldnt sell at a profit...my last invention was a "self constipation reliever", which was simply a jug of warm water with a solenoid valve into a tube which one opens via an electric switch when one has the tube inserted into your ****** (i wont mention it here)...this is done while one is lying down prone, and then the warm water flows down into one's ***** and softens up the stool......relieveing the constipation

So we can make loads of stuff like this to make it look like we are a real British company....apparently, one can even receive EU grants to do this kind of stuff.......does anybody know how we can apply for these?

 

[rjenkinsgb]

You just start trading - and keep full detailed records of sales and purchases; tell HMRC you have started a business.

If your turnover will be above the VAT threshold, you need to register for VAT.

Import duty is mostly a myth on general items; you pay VAT in the cost of the items when they cross the border - which you can claim back if VAT registered.
Duty applies to such as alcohol, fuel, tobacco. As long as you are not dealing in those (or foods), nothing much to be concerned with.
See the articles here: https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/import-export


The things you should be concerned with are the UK consumer laws.
The seller - you - is totally responsible for handling any warranty or quality problems with the items you sell. You cannot tell buyers to contact the makers etc..

In addition, for toys, there are incredibly strict safety regulations. Those cover everything from the types of pigments used in the plastics, to how breakable the toy is & if any small parts can be extracted or broken out of it by a child.

Everything has to be certified safe and "CE" marked.

There are potentially massive fines for non-compliance or fake markings, even if they were applied by the manufacturer before you bought the items.

Info:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/toy-manufacturers-and-their-responsibilities

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1881/made

ps. If you are selling on to distributors you may not need to worry about warranties (as long as that's in the contracts), but as the importer you are the responsible party as far as safety regs and the one that would get locked up for non compliance with the the regs if there were any breaches.

 

[JimB]

Nice troll post there Flyback.

There is a lot of implied illegal activity in there, hence violating the rules of the forum.

Should I press the DELETE button?
or
Let it run for a bit?
There could be a few laughs in this thread.

JimB

 

[Ian Rogers]

Everything has to be certified safe and "CE" marked.

There in itself lies an issue..

Every Chinese product bears this mark!! BUT!! their mark is a tiny bit different CE with ghosting on the E means "Chinese Export" and does not comply!! ( google " Chinese export logo ")

Don't get me wrong! Some Chinese goods are very legit, but normal profits and duties would apply... Your deal looks like the old adage " To good to be true"...

 

[alec_t]

I will simply act as middle man

I doubt it will be simple, if done legally. You will also be the fall guy if things go South.

 

[tomizett]

I think R.Jenkins has mostly covered it - I doubt that setting up the business as such would be the hard part.
While I don't think there is any implication of intent to break the law in the original post, if it where me, I'd be inclined to think it was too good to be true. There are potentially a lot of responsibilities you'd be saddled with, and I'd have to question why this individual doesn't seek to deal with an established importer of Chinese toys - there must be some?

In any event, it might be worth holding off until we know a little more about the Brexit situation before making any firm plans.

 

[gophert]

Hi,
A Chinese friend ( he was a coursemate on my electronics degree course) has approached me.... He wants to import vast amounts of electric toy cars into UK for sale.
However, being Chinese he cannot do this.
He says he needs me (i am a British National) to set up a "company" in the UK, and then he can import the toy cars into the UK via this 'company'. I will simply act as middle man, and will cream off a huge profit, he tells me £200,000 per year.
How do i go about setting up a company?, and how do i avoid the customs officials?, because i hear that British Ports are not regulated by EU customs officials, so therefore we will not need to pay the EU import tariff.
Has anybody already done this?...and can offer advice on how to go about it?
Apparently it will help if we can build up our own product range of British goods, even if these sell at a loss....this shouldn't be difficult for me, because as an electronics engineer i have designed a vast array of useless items which wouldnt sell at a profit...my last invention was a "self constipation reliever", which was simply a jug of warm water with a solenoid valve into a tube which one opens via an electric switch when one has the tube inserted into your ****** (i wont mention it here)...this is done while one is lying down prone, and then the warm water flows down into one's ***** and softens up the stool......relieveing the constipation

So we can make loads of stuff like this to make it look like we are a real British company....apparently, one can even receive EU grants to do this kind of stuff.......does anybody know how we can apply for these?

In legal jargon, you would be a "mule" (to bring them across the boarder) and a "dealer" (to sell them). No different that a drug cartel giving a cut to an innocent-looking person to walk the materials across the boarder and sell them.

Any recalls would be done at your cost, (e.g. due to toxic pigments, off-spec plastics with excess plasticizers (e.g. phthalates), or small parts that fall out easily, or anything else). Any laws broken in the UK would result in the authorities asking you to pay the fine or serve the time. one Piece of advice, if you are going to do it with questionable legality (as in "how do I avoid customs authorities"), don't ask on the inter webs to show you know it is (might be) illegal because you'll never get any sympathy from the prosecutors. Ha!

 

[unclejed613]

if i were you, the first thing i would do is research the prospective business partner's name as well as the name of the company... include alternate spelling or possible similar names. start your search in the UK, and expand it to any other countries he might claim to do business with. be aware that in china, proper names are:family name first, individual name second (which means if he's "lee sung", Lee is the family name, kind of a "last name first" arrangement). find out what the company name translates to in english, and do searches with the anglicized company name, as well as any english and chinese variations. in no case should you ever pay money up front to him or his company. in the US, it's common to set up a 30, 60 or 90 day account with the manufacturer, so that goods can clear customs, be delivered and inspected. if the product is damaged, incorrect model, incorrect quantity, defective, or poor quality, you don't eat it, the manufacturer does. there may be similar practices in the UK to protect UK based importers from fraud. china is a "wild west" of manufacturing, and it's hard to tell if you're getting a deal or a con job. you might also want to be sure their product isn't a knock-off that can get you slapped with a patent infringement lawsuit.

 

[Pommie]

Why can't a foreign national setup a company in the U.K?

Mike.

 

[gophert]

Why can't a foreign national setup a company in the U.K?

Mike.

Because the Chinese guy needs someone to buy his crappy toy cars. It is easier to make up a lame excuse about needing a British National to "act as a middleman and cream off a huge profit" and get Flyback to buy all the crap toy cars, assume the risk, and never be able o sell them for what he paid. Toy shops are going out of business every day. Most Kids don't want toy cars anymore and the weird kids that do want one will get it from Amazon.

This scam reminds me of an old neighbor lady who bought a bunch of candles from China because of a similar relationship. When they arrived, the candles were poorly packaged and the wax smelled bad. She put them in her garage and kept her car outside for about 20-years and she kept telling everyone about her candle story. When she passed, her kids had a dumpster delivered and put all the old, smelly and dusty candles in there. Done.

 

[unclejed613]

When they arrived, the candles were poorly packaged and the wax smelled bad.

i wonder if those were tallow candles made from whale blubber...

the OP's scenario kinda reminds me of the nigerian "deposit this check for a million dollars in a US bank account" scam...

 

[gophert]

i wonder if those were tallow candles made from whale blubber...

the OP's scenario kinda reminds me of the nigerian "deposit this check for a million dollars in a US bank account" scam...

Either whale blubber or some solid chemical sludge that was supposed to be destroyed.

 

[SamLindemann]

But are there no problems with the supply of goods with electric batteries? I think from China it will not be completely legal to deliver them in large quantities.
I think this request has a catch.