Pro Upgrade - Calif. State Import Use Tax Liability ?

[Damon]

my understanding, when you upgrade to pro, you are getting a new one. The amp is physically sent to France and they in turn send you a new one.This is what my dealer told me.
Customs will consider it as an imported equipment, does not mater new or old, gift or free. Customs will calculate the tax based on the actual price of new pro not just on your upgrade cost. Try buying any electronics on eBay, out of your own country. There will be import duty. In your case customs does not know it is an upgrade.
It is always good to do the upgrade through your dealer, you may have an issue if you are not the first owner.
I am also a proud owner of D-200 not doing the upgrade, in canada it cost around $4000 CAD. I would rather throw that money to an new amp. There are few amazing amps for considerably less price. Check it out at the Munich show.
Even though it is rated 200 watts, it lacks power to driver my speakers. Only option is to go mono block. For that price it's not worth the $$$.

On topic, the upgrade is an upgrade; not a replacement. A new unit is not shipped back, so your dealer is mistaken. California Customs agent may be misunderstanding the process, or there may be a problem with custom forms regarding the export and re-import of the amp. Here in Canada, as you may not know, not having done the upgrade, some specific forms are required regarding duties and taxes. I and many others had no problem with extra taxes on the upgrade. It is also true that Devialet's process included taxes and duties so the OP may have some success contacting them. That said, Customs agents are rarely persuadable, even if they are wrong.

Buying a product on Ebay is not the same situation, so taxes in that situation, if levied, are not relevant to the upgrade.

SaintO: can you contact Customs and see if there was some form or paperwork that they were looking for? Or possibly UPS? It is possible that certain forms were needed at the time of export. They did the applicable forms and customs brokerage for me and for other Canadian customers. I also don't recall reading that any other US owners paid additional duty (sam 1000 aside) but perhaps one of them can offer some advice. I hope that Devialet could also provide some help, but they may not have much more leverage than you.

Off-topic, there are many amazing amps at all sorts of prices. Yes, there are many options, including mono-blocks. Also different speakers.