VAT on purchases within EU sent by post to UK

[welfvet]

Hi all

 

If I buy pens from eBay sellers based within the EU, will I pay VAT and duties when it comes into the UK? Can't find clarity on HM Customs website, all it seems to go on about is booze and fags.

 

Cheers

 

Nic :bonk:

 

EDIT: Its confirmed, I cannot spell / typre!!!

Edited November 17, 2007 by welfvet

[AndyHayes]

You should pay tax on the pen at the rate of tax in the country of sale. So no VAT would be payable when it came into the UK

[Cam]

Wouldn't you pay the VAT as part of the purchase price (or not pay it if you are a VAT registered company and can supply your VAT number at purchase, depending on if the supplier can accept it at checkout)? Also, would you pay duties at all if it's coming from the EU?

 

 

[welfvet]

Your points were my asumptions on being within the EU. What has thrown me is the pallaver on excise duty on booze and fags' which after an EU court ruling still applies to internet purchases of said booze and fags. The UK customs seems to consider online purchases as different to free trade within the EU in person, and therefore I'm unsure about whether this applies to VAT and duty as well. I shall probably have to call HM C+E during the week to clarify, as I too was hoping to pay the VAT in country of origin and know that the parcel comes to me fully paid and I can be sure there are no surprises to spoil the fun.

 

Nic

[twdpens]

I expect HMC&R only gives info on the importing of booze 'n' tabs because those items will attract additional duty. However, as others have already stated, no duties are payable on pens (and most other things) when moving from one EU country to another.

 

HTH,

 

Martin

[desmonte]

I expect HMC&R only gives info on the importing of booze 'n' tabs because those items will attract additional duty. However, as others have already stated, no duties are payable on pens (and most other things) when moving from one EU country to another.

 

HTH,

 

Martin

 

 

That is my experience, too.

 

Desmond

[I am not a number]

I've had fairly large (up to £300*) deliveries from France with no charges levied. Makes a really nice change!

 

* I suppose it's all a matter of perspective really...

[DovR]

How about pens from the US (free trade treaty?) Israel (free trade agreement with EU) far east ?

 

What's the situation with gift pens, how is customs and tax levied at what rate ? new pens same or higher rate ? Used and repaired pens ? USA collectors and sellers who do not suffer any or virtually no customs and excise on f/p's sometimes forget that the eurocratic and other customs and excise people levy a tax on what they the seller declares. When people ask me to write gift and/or undervalue I understand fully the reason and try to oblige. Problem is with insurance as the declared customs value is the item's insured value as well.

 

[I am not a number]

One e-bay seller in the US decided that he would round the price of a vintage Hewlett Packard calculator up. As a result UK Customs and the Post Office must have thought Christmas had come early. I ended up paying through the nose for what was in fact a below average item which had been packed appallingly badly.

[RaymondvW]

You shouldn't have to pay any import duties/tax on items shipped from countries within the EU to other countries within the EU. The UK is also within the EU (like it or not ) and afaik the same rules apply. You normally would have to pay importduties and VAT on items shipped from outside the EU.

 

Here -NL- we pay usually a flat fee for importduties (3% or 4%) and 19% VAT on imports. This applies for both the price of the item AND the shipping costs incurred outside NL, no tax for the last 100km within NL. As if the shipping was imported too, which I completely disagree: Shipping to NL is a service provided to me in another country, shipping within NL is a service provided to me for which I haven't paid tax yet. The taxman figures the exact opposite, probably because there is more foreign soil than dutch soil and this way revenues are a lot higher.

This arrangement can be quite annoying sometimes: I have purchased some stuff that was about $50, and was shipped in an expedited manner, bringing the total to almost $100 (and doubling importduties )

 

I usually ask sellers explicity to declare value on the item without the shipping costs. Customs here automatically adds shipping to declared value, and I don't want to pay duties on shipping twice!

 

Last few years, just about every package I received was "caught" by customs, and I had to pay duties on all of them. Recently, the postal office started to charge a handling fee (a few €), and now small stuff is hardly worth importing anymore. A $20 item usually ends up costing more than double that when it arrives here (item+shipping+customs+handling fee).

 

[welfvet]

Thanks all.

 

Despite hugely advantageous prices in USA thanks to dollar pound ratio at present, I think I will stick to EU purchases.

 

now, where's that eBay link?.....

[taff015]

I was hammered £85 for a second hand camera lens I bought from the US (and the 6 weeks they impounded it before telling me they had it!!). It worked out that it would have been cheaper to buy a new one in the UK!!!!

[welfvet]

I was hammered £85 for a second hand camera lens I bought from the US (and the 6 weeks they impounded it before telling me they had it!!). It worked out that it would have been cheaper to buy a new one in the UK!!!!

 

 

Aaaargh! Enough to take all the joy out of a purchase. Hence will stick to EU purchases unless travelling through places that have good deals. Though still may need to getback home of course...

[SB1]

Touch wood, I have never had any duty or tax problems when buying from the EU or stateside. Have bought a lot recently with no problems

[andyk]

Touch wood, I have never had any duty or tax problems when buying from the EU or stateside. Have bought a lot recently with no problems

 

 

Problem with buying from the US (or for that matter anywhere outside the EU) is the lottery of ending up having to pay duties, bad enough if the purchase is low value (say £20) from memory the limit is £18.00, but often the duty will be outweighed by the charge the Post Office make for dealing with it. I have tended to kep my US purchases below the £18 mark (and stioll picked up some nice pens).

 

Another thing to watch are some of the EU, mainly German sellers selling on US ebay as they will have to add VAT if you are a EU buyer, which makes a seemingly good buy rather more expensive than you expected, there is usually something in the auction indicating this but not always obvious unless you read all the way through.

 

Personally I have always lusted after some of the pens on isellpens (no affiliations etc), some great prices, but have avoided buying as the price benefit can evaporate quite quickly, although some of his deal would still be good even with added duties etc.

 

Andy