Swiss car hire madness

[opusman]

We're not talking about australia where talking about europe with 14 countries inside the space of Victoria, or something like that. It's not even a comparable situation. Interesting comment but irrelevant.

We weren't talking about laptops and cameras either but you clearly felt that was relevant for some reason.

 

[medhead]

We weren't talking about laptops and cameras either but you clearly felt that was relevant for some reason.

It's highly relevant to your claim, since retracted, that this is just normal application of customs regulations. If charging tax on hire cars temporarily entering the EU is normal than surely they need to charge tax on all goods that temporarily enter the EU. That's a logically extension of the claim about normal customs regulation.

 

[kelvedon]

Who knows, maybe there's a thriving black-market in smuggling cars into the EU disguised as rentals.

I think that Albainia is a more lucrative market for them.

 

[opusman]

It's highly relevant to your claim, since retracted, that this is just normal application of customs regulations. If charging tax on hire cars temporarily entering the EU is normal than surely they need to charge tax on all goods that temporarily enter the EU. That's a logically extension of the claim about normal customs regulation.

So you're saying it's impossible to have legislation or regulations that make this applicable to cars only? What evidence do you have of that besides your own assertion that it's "logical"?

(Also, I retracted nothing).

It sounds like you're saying the EU isn't allowed to make and enforce customs regulations because it happens to have land borders with non-EU countries. You can't see how ridiculous that argument is?

 

[medhead]

So you're saying it's impossible to have legislation or regulations that make this applicable to cars only? What evidence do you have of that besides your own assertion that it's "logical"?

(Also, I retracted nothing).

It sounds like you're saying the EU isn't allowed to make and enforce customs regulations because it happens to have land borders with non-EU countries. You can't see how ridiculous that argument is?

Your mate said it was logic.

What I'm saying it that your argument that rental cars are imported or part of black market tax avoidance is ridiculous. Frankly I have no idea what you're trying to claim because it keeps changing. First we have "normal customs regulation" - i.e. something that is in place and applies to all "high value" imported goods.

Bureaucratic madness, a.k.a. enforcement of completely normal customs regulations?

You've subsequently retracted the normal customs regulations, and changed to a special rule about cars only. Having introduced a special rule there is no reason that Rental cars couldn't be excluded from the rule. Can't you see that it is ridiculous to label people as knee-jerk EU-haters just for mentioning that the application of this rule to rental cars is ludicrous.

Who knows, maybe there's a thriving black-market in smuggling cars into the EU disguised as rentals. I don't know why they've introduced this rule, I just figure there's probably a sensible reason for it beyond the knee-jerk EU-haters' theory of "bureaucratic madness". And they are hardly the only state/organisation to charge customs duty for imports, particularly big and expensive things like cars.

Blame Switzerland for not joining the EU if you want to blame someone.

What do we call someone who goes out of their way to attack people for expressing an opinion about nonsensical application of regulations?

 

[opusman]

Normal customs regulations as in, an entity that is entitled to create and enforce customs regulations (i.e. the EU), creating and enforcing customs regulations. This is completely normal. It happens everywhere, all over the world. In the current instance, the EU has chosen to levy a 10% duty on non-EU vehicles entering the EU.

I'm ignoring the rest of your rantings as you're either deliberately putting words in my mouth or willfully misunderstanding what I've said, and it seems pointless to continue the argument with you. Bye bye now.

 

[kelvedon]

In the current instance, the EU has chosen to levy a 10% duty on non-EU vehicles entering the EU.

My letter read that "EU residents can only drive a vehicle with an EU license plate out of Switzerland", to wit, does not apply to non EU residents driving a non EU registered car.

 

[medhead]

I'm ignoring the rest of your rantings as you're either deliberately putting words in my mouth or willfully misunderstanding what I've said, and it seems pointless to continue the argument with you. Bye bye now.

It's all there in black and white, nothing wilful about it. Anyone who can see stupidity in the application of the regulation to rental cars is a ridiculous, knee-jerk EU hater, that is precisely what you wrote.

 

[opusman]

It's all there in black and white, nothing wilful about it. Anyone who can see stupidity in the application of the regulation to rental cars is a ridiculous, knee-jerk EU hater, that is precisely what you wrote.

My third option was that your reading comprehension skills are somewhat lacking, but I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. Given that you've just manufactured a quote out of nowhere and claimed it was "precisely" what I wrote, I'm now tending away from willful and towards stupid.

 

[juddles]

People,

just to try and calm this (but probably unsuccessfully)

Unless I am missing something none of you are experts in car-border-crossing issues between EU and non-EU states. I tend to always take a calmer and more practical approach.

I truly suspect, if they bring in this stuff, they have issues which required it. Simple as that.

Throwing stones at them from our simplistic armchairs is ridiculous.

 

[UP4014]

If you brought a foreign reg'd car into Australia I suspect they'd try to charge you customs duty on it, why should the EU be any different?

I can drive US into Canada.....

 

[UP4014]

One word, BREXIT.

And now this
French voters ask for Frexit EU referendum after Germany and Brexit | World | News | Daily Express

 

[Franky]

I can drive US into Canada.....

Several years ago we tried to hire a car in Vancouver for a one way trip to LA. Were not allowed to do so, and had to transit over the border on a bus to the nearest US Airport to hire a car for the trip. It was not the issue of the Canadian car ending up in the US as I recall.

 

[opusman]

And now this
French voters ask for Frexit EU referendum after Germany and Brexit | World | News | Daily Express

Not surprising, there are racists everywhere.

 

[medhead]

Another aspect to this is that Switzerland is part of the schengen agreement. So much for the principles of that agreement with this new rule. Bit hard to not stop and also pay over cash money.

The Schengen Agreement (English pronunciation: /ˈʃɛŋən/) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's borderless Schengen Area. It was signed on 14 June 1985 by five of the ten member states of the then European Economic Community near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg. It proposed the gradual abolition of border checks at the signatories' common borders. Measures proposed included reduced speed vehicle checks which allowed vehicles to cross borders without stopping, allowing residents in border areas freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints and the harmonisation of visa policies.

In 1990, the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention which proposed the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa policy. The Schengen Area operates very much like a single state for international travel purposes with external border controls for travellers entering and exiting the area, and common visas, but with no internal border controls.

 

[dajop]

Another aspect to this is that Switzerland is part of the schengen agreement. So much for the principles of that agreement with this new rule. Bit hard to not stop and also pay over cash money.

There are still border stations between Switzerland and EU due to customs, not immigration. Not always used though but they are sometimes ...

 

[RooFlyer]

There are still border stations between Switzerland and EU due to customs, not immigration. Not always used though but they are sometimes ...

And for paying the Swiss highway fee. That's all they were interested in last time I drove into the country.

 

[dajop]

And for paying the Swiss highway fee. That's all they were interested in last time I drove into the country.

Have heard they do check sometimes on the quantity of meat that residents are bringing in, as there is a limit ... it is much cheaper across the border.

 

[kelvedon]

My father tells a story of the time ( in the sixties) that he drove over the border from Algeria to Tunisia. The border guards throughly searched the car, removing all the contents, and even recorded the serial numbers on the car tyres to ensure he didn't sell them in Tunisia.
" them wert days!"