Ebay - 2021 uk vat

[Bocanada 14]

Hi @Floyd,

I found this:

Quote

 

What happens to mail coming from countries outside the UK?*

All mail that enters the UK may be examined by Customs. Letters, postcards and parcels containing only documents are usually exempt.
If you’re receiving a parcel from a country outside the EU it may incur Customs charges.
Any parcel assessed as being liable for Customs charges will also incur a Royal Mail handling fee of £8.
Any goods imported into the UK over the value of £15 are liable for import VAT.
Gifts between private individuals over the value of £39 are also liable for VAT. Goods and gifts over these values may also be liable for customs duty.
You no longer have to pay Customs duty for goods up to the value of £135. However, you will still be required to pay import VAT and excise duty where applicable.
Please note: These limits don’t apply to alcohol and tobacco goods. You may be charged both excise duty and import VAT on these goods.
It’s not permitted to send alcohol and tobacco products into the UK from another EU country unless prior arrangements have been made to account for the excise duty.

*In the event of a 'no-deal' Brexit, items arriving from the EU will be treated the same as the rest of the world.

 

 

Source: https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/143/~/ive-received-a-grey-fee-to-pay-card#:~:text=Any parcel assessed as being,are also liable for VAT.

[Billy Jo Jim Bob 419]

1 hour ago, Floyd said:

Hi

won a record from the states last night and paid vat had already asked seller to send as gift low value just incase i got stung again this end

seller has now got got cold feet and sent me a refund refusing to declare low value

can somebody clarify this for me so it doesnt happen again, if i pay vat on item at ebays end do i pay more tax this end? i dont want to put sellers off by asking to declare as gift if theres no need once ive paid the vat on my winnings

ATB

Floyd

VAT should be collected at the point of sale. So Ebay will collect this via the seller. You should not have to pay anything on your package at entry to the UK. If you have paid VAT no need to declare low value.

[Floyd 56]

1 minute ago, Billy Jo Jim Bob said:

VAT should be collected at the point of sale. So Ebay will collect this via the seller. You should not have to pay anything on your package at entry to the UK. If you have paid VAT no need to declare low value.

Hi thanks for clearing that up, so if vat has been paid does this mean theres no reason for post office to demand handling fee as all fees have been paid and there just trying it on

ATB

Floyd

[Billy Jo Jim Bob 419]

Just now, Floyd said:

Hi thanks for clearing that up, so if vat has been paid does this mean theres no reason for post office to demand handling fee as all fees have been paid and there just trying it on

ATB

Floyd

Correct. If VAT has been paid RM cannot demand their £8 to collect it.

[Modernsoulsucks 1,898]

7 minutes ago, Floyd said:

Hi thanks for clearing that up, so if vat has been paid does this mean theres no reason for post office to demand handling fee as all fees have been paid and there just trying it on

ATB

Floyd

From reading that RM link if the seller doesn't declare under £39 you would be liable for import duty and I guess a fee to collect it. Sometimes of course stuff just gets through without charge. Luck of the draw.

There does seem to be import VAT and customs duty. Two different things ?

[Floyd 56]

2 minutes ago, Modernsoulsucks said:

From reading that RM link if the seller doesn't declare under £39 you would be liable for import duty and I guess a fee to collect it. Sometimes of course stuff just gets through without charge. Luck of the draw.

There does seem to be import VAT and customs duty. Two different things ?

Hi

then i`m still confused can somebody definately say whether vat and import duty are the same thing and will you still get stung by the post office and the tax man if you dont ask for low value declaration

ATB

Floyd

[Modernsoulsucks 1,898]

1 minute ago, Floyd said:

Hi

then i`m still confused can somebody definately say whether vat and import duty are the same thing and will you still get stung by the post office and the tax man if you dont ask for low value declaration

ATB

Floyd

I'm confused too to be honest.

I've got no old packages here so I can't check a declaration where I was charged in the past but I think charges were broken down into VAT, duty and PO fee.

[Blackpoolsoul 1,077]

4 hours ago, Floyd said:

Hi thanks for reply, but if youve already paid vat on item and postage you shouldnt need to pay a handling fee as well? if you owe tax and have to pay at post office then i see how you need to pay handling fee, but if these fees have already been paid in advance surely there is no handling fee to pay, can some body clarify this

ATB

Floyd

The VAT is completely different to Import taxes and an extra tax (it's a double whammy) and the Post Office charge is to collect the import tax duties.

Auctions/houses charge the Seller and the Buyer but these new taxes are all the buyer, it seems

Oh and one more thing, Supermarket bosses are asking for an additional 1% tax on on line market places

These companies and Governments are like my kids in lockdown......Greedy (not swearing) things

This could happen

Purchase £100 

+VAT £20

(lets' assume free shipping for a laugh)

Plus Import Taxes (differ) and £8 Post Office (Fee)

Expensive me thinks

Edited February 11 by Blackpoolsoul

[Joesoap 283]

I don't bother with eBay but anyone else noticed the increasing number of Discogs sellers who won't ship to the UK? That's presumably as a result of all this palaver....

[Blackpoolsoul 1,077]

16 minutes ago, Joesoap said:

I don't bother with eBay but anyone else noticed the increasing number of Discogs sellers who won't ship to the UK? That's presumably as a result of all this palaver....

It could be, however a lot of sellers can't ship "anywhere", as they have not updated their Automatic Shipping Policy which had to be done in October 2020

[Gazoor 15]

Hi All,

Not sure where to ask this question,  maybe some of you haven't experienced it yet etc?

But if you buy items through Ebay which are not UK based, if you're in the UK, an additional 20% VAT is added automatically.  This isn't always in the listing as it, I believe, is added by Ebay and not the seller, so sometimes there will be notification of the forthcoming charge and other times there won't.

I made a payment via Paypal last night and the charge was added as I paid, an additional $39, which on that particular purchase I can stand as I got it for a reasonable price.

I know this isn't all bad as it stops the UK post from 'robbing' £8 from you for an item which can't be delivered due to customs charges etc. but if the seller is paid direct, with Western Union, BidPAy (if its still going) etc, - which used to be a pain as its a clunky system to use and requires more info. than the automated Paypal payments, especially as Ebay have now owned Paypal for a number of years, but would the VAT be automatically added by this type of payment, or will the payment taken be the balance as listed ie. item cost plus postage costs?

The same issue is starting to come through on European to UK sales too, although this should change for dealings of less than quite a high value per year depending on Country ie. Germany 100,000Euros, but Ebay regs. state they will simply add 20% on ALL items.

Cheers, Gary 

[Woodbutcher 1,887]

Been covered on here since December ... 

 

[Gazoor 15]

I always like to be ahead of the curve!!   

So what's the outcome then... are 'we' all paying by Western Union or another money transfer outfit, or paying the taxes like good Brits??

[Gazoor 15]

On 05/01/2021 at 17:21, Julianb said:

Surely VAT is not charged on secondhand goods?

It is unfortunately Jules... tax is tax.. unless you're a very large multi-national in which case its a discussion ending in a notional payment!

[Gazoor 15]

On 24/01/2021 at 18:08, Modernsoulsucks said:

It's Ebay who had 20% automatically isn't it ?  Not the seller although Julian's earlier post does contradict that. 

Its always applicable on all purchases but some are obviously being missed.  There's no free below is it £18 or so inc. post anymore either.

[Julianb 860]

Is the way forward to get the seller to send to a pal based in the US and them to send on as a 'gift'?

Not sure if ebay would tie up the connection between the buyers home country and the actual posting address.

[Mr Smithy 384]

Sent a package of 12 45s NYC to London customs value $30
Mailed 2/25 arrived 3/4
No tax, no 8 quid no nothing
Result !!

[Vadnochka 194]

Bought a Paris Blues - Blue Mala issue 16/2 - arrived 22/2 from Maryland - $10 value - no hold-ups, no fees etc 

$16.42 std postage - all the other services are a complete waste of time and money - Global shipping a racket

I try to deal only with sellers who use UPS int. pkt and have decided that ebay and the others are all in on it so would rather go without than pay another 30% + in postage /insurance/fees/tax - plenty of sounds available outside of the high cost / poor service outlets.

[Billy Jo Jim Bob 419]

Another Ebay rip off I think....

I won an item yesterday and I expected the 20% VAT to be added. However when I went to pay the import tax figure was 28% of the combined value of item and shipping. Eh ?

So I contacted Ebay this morning and asked what is going on and pointed out that UK VAT was 20%. I was passed from person to person and asked to wait for answers and on hold for 10 to 15 minutes each time, and finally after 45 minutes they told me they would have to raise it up to other people so I gave up.

This current incarnation of Ebay is a far cry from the one I joined 20+ years ago. 

[Blackpoolsoul 1,077]

1 hour ago, Billy Jo Jim Bob said:

Another Ebay rip off I think....

I won an item yesterday and I expected the 20% VAT to be added. However when I went to pay the import tax figure was 28% of the combined value of item and shipping. Eh ?

So I contacted Ebay this morning and asked what is going on and pointed out that UK VAT was 20%. I was passed from person to person and asked to wait for answers and on hold for 10 to 15 minutes each time, and finally after 45 minutes they told me they would have to raise it up to other people so I gave up.

This current incarnation of Ebay is a far cry from the one I joined 20+ years ago. 

I stopped buying anything from Ebay (abroad) as from December as it was bound to happen.

Brexit is now meaning a potential on-line war which I predicted.

[Frankie Crocker 1,897]

1 hour ago, Billy Jo Jim Bob said:

Another Ebay rip off I think....

I won an item yesterday and I expected the 20% VAT to be added. However when I went to pay the import tax figure was 28% of the combined value of item and shipping. Eh ?

So I contacted Ebay this morning and asked what is going on and pointed out that UK VAT was 20%. I was passed from person to person and asked to wait for answers and on hold for 10 to 15 minutes each time, and finally after 45 minutes they told me they would have to raise it up to other people so I gave up.

This current incarnation of Ebay is a far cry from the one I joined 20+ years ago. 

You were lucky to be able to contact eBay and deal with a real person. eBay are THE problem. They impose the VAT. They factor in extra VAT on postage charges. Is there any evidence this US TNC pays taxes after diverting revenues via tax-havens? Some US dealers have found a way around the eBay imposition whilst others do not seem to be able to disconnect. Switching addresses has become increasingly complicated, and after one cancelled sale, I managed to amend my primary address to the US, preventing the falling through of another sale. US dealers must be getting fed up of this restrictive practice, so let’s hope they complain to eBay and things might change?

[Billy Jo Jim Bob 419]

2 hours ago, Frankie Crocker said:

You were lucky to be able to contact eBay and deal with a real person. eBay are THE problem. They impose the VAT. They factor in extra VAT on postage charges. Is there any evidence this US TNC pays taxes after diverting revenues via tax-havens? Some US dealers have found a way around the eBay imposition whilst others do not seem to be able to disconnect. Switching addresses has become increasingly complicated, and after one cancelled sale, I managed to amend my primary address to the US, preventing the falling through of another sale. US dealers must be getting fed up of this restrictive practice, so let’s hope they complain to eBay and things might change?

It was clearly an Indian back office support operation who seemed to have no knowledge or authority to speak on behalf of Ebay, despite being Ebay's office / representatives. 

[Frankie Crocker 1,897]

58 minutes ago, Billy Jo Jim Bob said:

It was clearly an Indian back office support operation who seemed to have no knowledge or authority to speak on behalf of Ebay, despite being Ebay's office / representatives. 

Ah ha... Outsourced low-wage labour reading off a card, passes for customer-service in bonus-oriented corporations. Well shabby.

[Imperial C 607]

On 13/01/2021 at 16:54, Ficklefingers said:

I for one will no longer make purchase via ebay.. total rip off !! As stated earlier, if the actual seller of the goods is not vat registered how the hell can ebay apply VAT when they are not the owner of the goods ?!?

Are ebay supplying vat invoices with each sale to UK destinations ??

Talk about a scam..

Likewise Johnny, end of for me too. Plenty of records and small dealers in the uk who know what they want for a record. 

[Billy Jo Jim Bob 419]

So, to round this up. I have been in email dialogue with Ebay's shipping dept. because its they who work with Ebay's shipping and tax collecting service. It outsourced to a company called Pitney Bowes or something like that.

Anyway I asked why they added 28% tax on what should have been 20%. Apparently its to cover the fees charged by their outsourced service so its VAT + Fee's to Pitney Bowes, hence 28%. 

The surprising thing was at the end of each email, they said that I could, before paying the invoice, contact the seller and ask them to ship outside of Ebay's program and therefore they would not be able to collect tax. This took me back a little as they normally push people towards their services.

Anyway, suggest if you intend to bid on a high value item ask the seller beforehand if they can work outside on any Ebay shipping or invoicing. 

[Tattoodave 3,958]

On 14/02/2021 at 13:44, Julianb said:

Is the way forward to get the seller to send to a pal based in the US and them to send on as a 'gift'?

Not sure if ebay would tie up the connection between the buyers home country and the actual posting address.

I've done it over the years and it's never been a problem Julian, my cousin in New Jersey is a little fed up of it though.