Yamaha CS80

> This has been a point I have thought over long and hard ever 
> since I was also stung by UK customs on something I thought 
> an unfair and excessive charge.

If you think you're being stung on imported goods, consider that you pay 20%
on top of virutally everything you buy inside the UK.
People only seem to get upset about VAT when they are aware of it.
If you buy an item for £100, it's really only cost you £83, and uk.gov get
£17 for allowing you to spend the money you already paid income tax on.
The only thing you can do legally about 'unfair and excessive' taxation, is
to get into politics, win power, and pursue a drastic reduction in state
spending.
Good luck with that !

> OK, you can buy CS parts and 
> have them shipped - and by their very nature you would want 
> them insured as they are rare and costly - BUT... is there no 
> loop-hole, such as if the item is deemed 'broken' (like a box 
> full of spares 'legally' could be) then no (or very little) 
> tax needs to be paid?

There is no loophole.
If goods are being imported into the EU for the first time, they are liable
for VAT (and possibly duty) based on their monetary value.
If you can persuade a seller to declare a lower value than they're worth,
you will save on the VAT/duty, but there is no benefit to the seller, and
they take a risk of being found to be involved in tax evasion if it turns
out the goods were worth more. It seems innocuous to under-value a few old
synth parts, but there are many scams and frauds attempted through
import/export that HMRC are always on the lookout for, and they take a dim
view of any illegal activity. It's just not worth the trouble for a small
business to get on their radar.

Cheers,
Colin f