new VAT rules for imports from 1st jan 2021

[Simon G]

Chap on the radio today has had to stop shipping to the EU as his £35 plants were arriving with bills for €40 from the couriers, and the customers were raging.

So the EU are collecting the VAT for the EU rather than us collecting it on their behalf while we were members? ... is that what's happening? ... and the collectors (in this case the couriers) are slapping their fees on top? .... I mean the customers would have been paying the VAT regardless right? .. and presumably they are being sold the goods without the VAT added now, like The US does when it buys from here?

 

[zouzounaki]

So the EU are collecting the VAT for the EU rather than us collecting it on their behalf while we were members? ... is that what's happening? ... and the collectors (in this case the couriers) are slapping their fees on top? .... I mean the customers would have been paying the VAT regardless right? .. and presumably they are being sold the goods without the VAT added now, like The US does when it buys from here?

i’ve tried to work out how it was working before within the eu, it’s a bit confusing. were things cheaper because we actually weren’t paying vat? should have been billed at customs but many shipping methods just allowed everything through?

i’ve seen a french person saying the uk prices from lpv were cheaper, for example.

edited to add: because there isn’t a standard rate of vat across the eu, and it’s not the eu that collects it, it’s each state.

 

[Simon G]

i’ve tried to work out how it was working before within the eu, it’s a bit confusing. were things cheaper because we actually weren’t paying vat? should have been billed at customs but many shipping methods just allowed everything through?

i’ve seen a french person saying the uk prices from lpv were cheaper, for example.

edited to add: because there isn’t a standard rate of vat across the eu, and it’s not the eu that collects it, it’s each state.

I don't have experience of selling into the EU, but when I bought scooter parts from SIP in Germany I always paid VAT at point of purchase, so I just presumed it would be the same going the other way.... actually same thing when I bought a guitar from Thomann too, always paid VAT when I paid ..... and never had any kind of extra charges either.

 

[Simon G]

... and I know that when Americans order from the UK, they don't pay VAT, because on the Darts forum I go on most Americans order from Darts Corner in the UK because it's super cheap, no VAT and because of the VAT laws in the US they don't pay anything when it gets over there. ... lucky bastards.

 

[Mawsley]

So the EU are collecting the VAT for the EU rather than us collecting it on their behalf while we were members? ... is that what's happening? ... and the collectors (in this case the couriers) are slapping their fees on top? .... I mean the customers would have been paying the VAT regardless right? .. and presumably they are being sold the goods without the VAT added now, like The US does when it buys from here?

Courier pays charge, I’ve no idea who to
Courier adds fee
Courier present bill to unsuspecting French type wanting an avocado pip in a pot
French person kills a cow and sets fire to it on a Route Nacional

 

[zouzounaki]

I don't have experience of selling into the EU, but when I bought scooter parts from SIP in Germany I always paid VAT at point of purchase, so I just presumed it would be the same going the other way.... actually same thing when I bought a guitar from Thomann too, always paid VAT when I paid ..... and never had any kind of extra charges either.

so i bought a bike from germany a while back, and just checked the order and it says includes vat.

orders from inawera say “vat_23”. i think that’s the vat rate in poland. that’s what i had thought, you just paid the vat charged in the seller’s country. all i know is it is now a pain in the arse.

 

[Simon G]

so i bought a bike from germany a while back, and just checked the order and it says includes vat.

orders from inawera say “vat_23”. i think that’s the vat rate in poland. that’s what i had thought, you just paid the vat charged in the seller’s country. all i know is it is now a pain in the arse.

yup, I guess it will sort it self out but it does seem to be a right mess at the moment. ... and the couriers will be taking advantage of slapping on extra charges where they can no doubt.

 

[onion]

It’s the ridiculous handling charges that need sorting out. I don’t care who collects the tax but there should be legislation which limits the amount that can be added.

All the leavers will be up in arms when they realise we’ve regained our sovereignty (cough) but nobody makes any of the crap they want to buy and now everything costs more and comes with additional ballache.

what a ridiculous mess all because of some populist shite.

 

[Simon G]

orders from inawera say “vat_23”. i think that’s the vat rate in poland. that’s what i had thought, you just paid the vat charged in the seller’s country. all i know is it is now a pain in the arse.

Ok yeah I think that's right.... so what the government want Inawera to do now is register for UK VAT and collect the 20% for them.... and you pay nothing else.... but what's happening is that companies aren't all on board yet, so we are having to pay it when it arrives and a fee to the courier to collect it instead.

... which is what it was like buying from the rest of the world before, it's why I stopped buying vinyl from the US because of those extra fees. I guess the government thought the new rules would avoid that, but if parcels are not showing that the VAT has been already collected then, we are kind of stuffed.

 

["Misfit"]

Ok yeah I think that's right.... so what the government want Inawera to do now is register for UK VAT and collect the 20% for them.... and you pay nothing else.... but what's happening is that companies aren't all on board yet, so we are having to pay it when it arrives and a fee to the courier to collect it instead.

... which is what it was like buying from the rest of the world before, it's why I stopped buying vinyl from the US because of those extra fees. I guess the government thought the new rules would avoid that, but if parcels are not showing that the VAT has been already collected then, we are kind of stuffed.

What happened to the bike