VAT and import duties

[Bellcrew]

Yes including many things such as invisible trade (Finance etc) but everyone trys to negotiate trade deals to remove trade barriers, we are putting them up, it makes no sense, regardless of being in favour or not of leaving the EU.

Those figures are for physical trade only, 2017 as detailed in wiki. The UK would be delighted to remove all trade barriers with the EU, both physical and financial but the EU said no.
The EU had a financial service directive that in theory allowed the UK service sector unrestricted access, unfortunately many countries erected devious barriers to ensure their own companies remained protected from competition. The situation following our exit from the EU is practically unchanged.

 

[Scoobz1]

It is very early days, no one was certain what the deal would be until Christmas eve. There have been a number of side agreements on other things since then so anything is possible in the future.
I see the Greeks are offering a Golden Visa if you buy a property there for over 250,000 euros, as for the Irish granny route, practically half the population of the UK would qualify for EU citizenship.
As Jonesy would say don't panic.

Doesn't help if you live in the UK regardless of EU citizenship - you will still pay the taxes and suffer the admin hurdles!

 

[WelshGas]

Anyone heard of any EU HGV drivers having their French Cheese and Italian ham baguettes being confiscated by UK customs at Dover?

 

[Amarillo]

The UK would be delighted to remove all trade barriers with the EU, both physical and financial but the EU said no.

It was the UK that said No in the 2016 referendum. It is only by convoluted and disingenuous logic that you could say that the EU left the UK rather than the UK leaving the EU, which is basically what you are trying to assert with the above statement.

 

[Amarillo]

Anyone heard of any EU HGV drivers having their French Cheese and Italian ham baguettes being confiscated by UK customs at Dover?

The confiscation of ham sandwiches by some EU officials at the the border does seem incredibly petty. You would have thought the EU would have the sense to allow products through which are obviously for personal consumption.

 

[Wongo]

Those figures are for physical trade only, 2017 as detailed in wiki. The UK would be delighted to remove all trade barriers with the EU, both physical and financial but the EU said no.
The EU had a financial service directive that in theory allowed the UK service sector unrestricted access, unfortunately many countries erected devious barriers to ensure their own companies remained protected from competition. The situation following our exit from the EU is practically unchanged.

Wiki! Try using that as a source in an exam. All this buyers regret is pitiful, many trawling the web using statistics like a drunk uses a lamppost for support rather than illumination.
Its unarguable a Customs Union is good for trade, reduces cost, eases flow. There is no plausible objection to it.

 

[Wongo]

Truth be told, once Biden won Johnson would have signed a blank piece of paper.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Its unarguable a Customs Union is good for trade, reduces cost, eases flow. There is no plausible objection to it.

In talking (online) to various people I get the impression that a lot of folks were under the impression that a zero-tariff trade deal and a customs union were synonymous.

One of my kids works in a small business that sells industrial components. It seems the amount of paperwork now required to deal with their overseas customers has come as a shock at least to the office staff, not sure about the business owners.

What's done is done and I can't realistically see any big change as obviously we're not going to re-join the customs union. We just have to get used to it.

 

[Wongo]

In talking (online) to various people I get the impression that a lot of folks were under the impression that a zero-tariff trade deal and a customs union were synonymous.

One of my kids works in a small business that sells industrial components. It seems the amount of paperwork now required to deal with their overseas customers has come as a shock at least to the office staff, not sure about the business owners.

What's done is done and I can't realistically see any big change as obviously we're not going to re-join the customs union. We just have to get used to it.

Yes it will crush small businesses, maybe that’s the idea leave it all to Amazon,

 

[s2bear]

What I find alarming is that UK Gov have piled in right off the bat and reduced our personal duty free allowances from pretty decent (think 92 bottles of wine before any questions asked) to pretty small (24 bottles). It whiffs of a sign of domestic policy to come. And NO, I’m not about to start quaffing English wine (even if you say it tastes just like chicken).

If anyone cares, I ordered some snowboarding kit from Burton this week (Austria), it was only £24 and I expected the wurst (sorry) but it arrived in the usual timeframe with no extra charges. I don’t know if that’s because Burton have registered for (UK) VAT or because it was only £24.

I’m going to import another Cali from Europe this year and will report my findings vs last time. I’m trying to find out if duty is now applicable (I think not) but wading through the HMRC for concrete evidence isn’t straightforward.

 

[Velma's Dad]

If anyone cares, I ordered some snowboarding kit from Burton this week (Austria), it was only £24 and I expected the wurst (sorry) but it arrived in the usual timeframe with no extra charges. I don’t know if that’s because Burton have registered for (UK) VAT or because it was only £24.

Cheapskate.

 

[Nick H]

Surely you either pay VAT in the country of origin, or on import to the U.K., not both.

BBC Radio 4 had a piece on this last week. You always pay UK VAT. Some people have bought items from Ebay and Amazon recently and not realised they were coming from Germany. They were charged German VAT because the seller didn't understand the system and GB VAT plus import duty plus an admin fee from the delivery company. One person had a bill for £90 from the deliver company for the extra duty plus their admin fee, which they were required to pay before the delivery company would deliver the item.
Many EU sellers have stopped selling to the UK. To avoid an extra VAT charge on arrival, the seller has to register for VAT in the UK so that they can charge it at source, otherwise the delivery company will charge it plus their admin fee.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rcbl should be the link to the programme if you want to listen to it.
You and Yours EU Import tax etc

 

[ReinholdMessner]

I’ve only spent a few minutes investigating but I think this could be the method to reclaim VAT or Import duty.

How to claim a repayment of import duty and VAT if you've overpaid

Use the Customs Declaration Service or Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight online service, or form C285, depending on where you made your declaration.

www.gov.uk

Hmm, yes and no. This covers some situations where Duty was incorrectly charged, for example if an importer had imported using the wrong Commodity Code on their declaration, or if the Excise Men wrote the wrong number on the paperwork leading to you being charged more Duty than was correctly due.

The difficulty you have, if I understood your position correctly, is that Duty was correctly collected by HMRC as a result of the movement of goods, but you'd been led to believe that the price you paid included that Duty, whereas the seller thinks they have a right to pass the additional cost on to you. It sounds more like a question of reviewing the T&Cs of your transaction with that retailer to see what charges are/aren't included in the price you paid, or being enough of a pest that they give you the money anyway.

 

[Wongo]

Hmm, yes and no. This covers some situations where Duty was incorrectly charged, for example if an importer had imported using the wrong Commodity Code on their declaration, or if the Excise Men wrote the wrong number on the paperwork leading to you being charged more Duty than was correctly due.

The difficulty you have, if I understood your position correctly, is that Duty was correctly collected by HMRC as a result of the movement of goods, but you'd been led to believe that the price you paid included that Duty, whereas the seller thinks they have a right to pass the additional cost on to you. It sounds more like a question of reviewing the T&Cs of your transaction with that retailer to see what charges are/aren't included in the price you paid, or being enough of a pest that they give you the money anyway.

Isn’t much of an incentive to an EU trader if volumes are low.

 

[dartmoordingoe]

Check if you entitled to Irish citizenship. My wife, son and daughter are now dual citizens.
I have a certified copy of my Grandfathers birth certificate in Edinburgh and have joined the SNP. it’s payback time for 50 years of supporting the Scottish Rugby Team through thick and a lot of thin!

 

[Scoobz1]

Check if you entitled to Irish citizenship. My wife, son and daughter are now dual citizens.
I have a certified copy of my Grandfathers birth certificate in Edinburgh and have joined the SNP. it’s payback time for 50 years of supporting the Scottish Rugby Team through thick and a lot of thin!

And how does that help ? If you love in the UK you will still have to pay the various taxes and fees !

 

[Velma's Dad]

And how does that help ? If you love in the UK you will still have to pay the various taxes and fees !

I believe in Free Love.

 

[ReinholdMessner]

I believe in Free Love.

Which is fortunate, because if you paid for the love it would be subject to VAT if supplied by a person registered (or liable to be registered) for VAT in the UK. The VAT Tribunal considered some of the relevant issues in the memorable “Spearmint Rhino” decision, although that was more concerned with who provided the love, i.e. the girl or the club.

Married folks can be reassured that free love supplied between connected parties is unlikely to be “by way of business”, but if it is then a VAT charge may arise even if no payment changes hands.

No Customs Duty though, even if pre Brex.

(Is this off topic? Its difficult to tell.)

 

[Velma's Dad]

Which is fortunate, because if you paid for the love it would be subject to VAT if supplied by a person registered (or liable to be registered) for VAT in the UK. The VAT Tribunal considered some of the relevant issues in the memorable “Spearmint Rhino” decision, although that was more concerned with who provided the love, i.e. the girl or the club.

Married folks can be reassured that free love supplied between connected parties is unlikely to be “by way of business”, but if it is then a VAT charge may arise even if no payment changes hands.

No Customs Duty though, even if pre Brex.

(Is this off topic? Its difficult to tell.)

Well tariffs and taxes aside, the end of free movement has certainly interfered with the supply of shaggable au pairs to the British middle classes which is maybe why there were more Remainers among parliamentarians than the general public.

Yes, I think we're off topic now.

 

[sidepod]

but if it is then a VAT charge may arise even if no payment changes hands.

In my experience, you pay one way or another in the end!

 

[sidepod]

As an update on my case - Received email from Customer Support today. Long story short but a full refund of additional customs costs. Happy with that.

 

[66tim99]

Got a bit trigger happy this morning and bought a €19 cup holder….for €39. Looks like I may have to pay customs duty as well?!
I’ve heard Brexit described as ‘A triumph for people who watch telly with the big light on’. Realise I’m complicit in the madness paying these fees.
What have we done to ourselves?

 

[B J G]

Seems odd as I found that you can send items to the EU with no extra tax if value under £20

 

[Mr T]

You won’t pay duty as it’s less than £135 but VAT is payable unless included by the seller. Depends on the shipping terms.