MichaelG:

Very helpful – thank you.

I was puzzled by the reference to excise duty as I understand it is a tax levied *within* the country eg the duty on spirits.

MichaelG:

Thanks. I suspect I shall be none the wiser but so much better informed!

Yet parcelfarce just charged me £12 to collect £15 of VAT on a commercial consignment from the USA for an item not available in the UK and where no import or excise duty was payable.

Crooks would be far too generous a description.

I don't understand….

on the one hand I thought that as of now, the minimum tax threshold for VAT/ excise/import duties was to be reduced from £15 to zero therefore VAT etc. is now payable on all purchases via 'online market places' offshore vendors etc….

On the other hand, this link seems to imply the minimum tax threshold for offshore purchases is £135.00?? Or have I just misinterpreted?

I am clearly in a post seasonal brain fog of too much food n booze so could someone that understands the regulatory mind please explain in simple terms what the tax position is likely to be for offshore purchases?

Much thanks!

This would seem to agree with that Dave that for smaller items there is now no minimum and the seller collects the VAT, See " Consignments valued at £135 or less". Michael's link seems to be related to business to business sales rather than retail sales.

This is too complicated for me!

Does this mean that, under the new rules from today, if one of us orders something worth less than £135.00 from abroad then only VAT is chargeable, and that VAT has to be collected by the seller in, lets say, China? And the seller has tp pay the VAT they collect over to HMRC?

If so, and if the appropriate paperwork has been completed by the seller, then the package comes through customs etc with nothing to pay and thus no delays or local handling charges by Royal Mail etc?

Does it make any difference if one orders from Alibarber etc (based in China) or from or via someone advertising on Ebay etc., based wherever?

Sounds far too good to be be true, even accepting that sellers abroad will have to increase their prices to cover the VAT which they don't presently pay, What am I missing?

Rod

Michael, Thanks for the link.

This seems to confirm my general overview above, and makes a distinction between buying directly from abroad (where the seller will collect the VAT) and buying via an "Online Market Place" (like Ebay) ( where the OMP will collect the VAT) I also agree with others who are waiting to see what happens in practice.

One might imagine some sellers being better than others at keeping records and handing over the VAT they have collected, and one might also wonder what penalties HMRC could impose if any non UK based sellers default.

These official links say nothing about delays and handling charges, which are not part of the legal import charging process, but if these are short and not expensive then this change seems to be generally good news for those buying low value items from abroad.

I will wait and see how it goes!

Rod

What has happened to Michael Gilligan's original posts?

(There were several, pointing people to various sections of the document he linked to).

Edited By Andy Gray 3 on 01/01/2021 21:41:50

Vic,

I think you are right, but I cant see how that will work in practice for direct purchases from the far east (ie not from Amazon Ebay etc)- evidenced by the 'something so wonderful will be done to trap the miscreants, that we know not what it will be…' tone of the guidance. It appears to be a work in progress to me.

For it to work as suggested, the likes of AliBaba would have to agree to collect tax on UK sales on behalf of HMRC. I suppose they (and others) might do this off the back of some wider trade deal long term but I cant see them rushing to fall into line just because HMRC say so. I expect AB want to protect their revenue, but the truth is, they could probably buy this entire country out of petty cash, chop it into little pieces and flush it down the pan, without blinking.

Secondly, when a purchase is made from Ali, It has been my experience that a package arrives from a relatively anonymous small reseller / sole trader and there is no obvious link to the OMP on the packaging. Are all these myriads of backroom traders somewhere in the middle of China suddenly going to feel the need to kowtow to HMRC?

I suppose HMRC could take the line that if goods turn up with a declared value but no VAT registration identifier, they would simply confiscate the goods to encourage the others…

That link is old. 3rd Dec, latestes notice I was referring to was dared 22nd Dec.

Robert G8RPI.