United Kingdom: Tax Tribunal Rules Signed Football Shirt Not Historical Interest

The Isle of Man Treasury charged 12% customs duty and 20% import VAT on a signed Tottenham Hotspur replica football shirt imported from the US, classifying it as a men’s cotton shirt and valuing it by the price paid.
The appellant argued the shirt was a collector’s piece of historical interest under commodity code 9705, which would attract a reduced effective 5% import VAT rate; alternatively, he said it should be valued as an ordinary replica shirt, not at the price paid for it.
The tribunal held the shirt was not an item of historical interest, despite being signed by the squad and manager after Tottenham’s 2025 UEFA cup win and intended for display.
The tribunal also upheld valuation based on the actual purchase price paid by the appellant rather than an ordinary replica shirt value.
The appeal was dismissed in full.

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.