Purchases from Great Britain and shipping to Europe.

[Wesel]

Do any of you living on the continent,or not, have a post Br ** it experience, concerning purchases from Great Britain and shipping to Europe?
Having to pay VAT on arrival in Europe, does the supplier deduct UK VAT from the price ?
It is expected that in some cases there will be other customs duties, or fees charged by the carrier. Have you had the experience of this?
Thank you for sharing your experiences in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany etc ....

 

[WelshGas]

Do any of you living on the continent,or not, have a post Br ** it experience, concerning purchases from Great Britain and shipping to Europe?
Having to pay VAT on arrival in Europe, does the supplier deduct UK VAT from the price ?
It is expected that in some cases there will be other customs duties, or fees charged by the carrier. Have you had the experience of this?
Thank you for sharing your experiences in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany etc ....

Legally, if the item purchased is for export then you should not be charged UK VAT. Normally the delivery firm would pay EU/Country of Import VAT and then collect that payment from the recipient. The delivery firm can/does frequently charge an Admin Fee for this service, which can vary significantly between companies.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Legally, if the item purchased is for export then you should not be charged UK VAT. Normally the delivery firm would pay EU/Country of Import VAT and then collect that payment from the recipient. The delivery firm can/does frequently charge an Admin Fee for this service, which can vary significantly between companies.

Alot of companies had issues early on as the receiver didn’t realise that they were obliged to pay the duty upon delivery direct to the courier; The receiver refused delivery (as in a lot of cases they had already paid vat/duty on the initial order) & the parcel went back with the courier to the depot…hence this caused an increase in the courier fee to cover double handling / storage whilst the seller sorted out the issue with the receiver and then delivery attemped again. Hence try to order from a company that guarantees that you won’t be liable for any additional charges (always read the small print).

This is why deliveries to certain destinations (Ireland being one) were suspended for a period of time, until a solution was found.

 

[bob_summers]

Experience in Spain was patchy at first. Back in January I was charged customs handling for some used magazines sent as a gift. Seems to be getting smoother though. I’ve seen some UK businesses advertising that they will pre-pay any customs fees at their end (many Chinese companies have done that for years).

I’m not sure if the exchange rate makes it worth buying from the uk unless it’s something you can’t get anywhere else?

 

[rod_vw]

I sent a valuable but second hand book to Belgium at the end of February, it arrived in Belgium customs within a few days and that's where it sat for seven weeks then it was delivered to the buyer with what I believe was a 21% VAT bill! We don't charge VAT on books but most other countries do.

I have a small package coming from the Canary Isles soon containing second hand car parts, I've no idea what charge there will be on that.

 

[Swiss Cheese]

I ordered 5 tubs of Marmite from the UK, and despite it sitting with DHL in Zurich for a week saying it needed import papers and me chasing them, it arrived OK with no extra charges.
My son regularly orders food stuffs and has no issues, not sure about extra duty. My wife seems to have no issues ordering from clothes shops in the UK!!!
Regarding VAT, some online sites can cope with VAT and others not. There are normally thresholds for VAT duty on import so below those (including postage) we don't get charged.
It is correct to say that if shipped via DHL or similar, then you may be charged a handling fee and that's hit & miss. If below thresholds, then Swiss Post does not charge any fees this end.

I ordered my replacement VW awning end caps and inner piece from the shop here, but on the site they stated they are not currently shipping to Europe so I sent it to my mum and she is onward posting it.