Beware, EU purchases. Tax and handling fees

[weeksy]

Seeing this more and more at the moment with KTM stuff, wahoo stuff etc. Basically now we're out of the EU we pay duty, plus handling fees.

These can be quite a chunk, £50 item bloke was charged £42 in fees etc.

[Yorick]

Anything from UK over €150 we pay 7% IGIC (VAT)

[Mr. Dazzle]

Fees I can get, but duty?

Out of curiosity what were you buying? AIUI 'most' items are tax free still.

Edit: BTW I expect this to be a short/medium term thing. The extra paperwork burden means things are going to be more expensive from the EU essentially forever from now on, but as people get used to them and specialists er....specialise....they'll get more efficient (i.e. cheaper) at it.

[weeksy]

Fees I can get, but duty?

Out of curiosity what were you buying? AIUI 'most' items are tax free still.

1. KTM power parts, clutch I think
2. Wahoo axle for turbo trainer
3. Wahoo kickr snap turbo.

I'm not sure the how, why, but the simple fact is on more and more forums I'm seeing it. You may not be charged but it's possible.

[Alan PBTD]

And a general guide to find out if the products your buying are coming from abroad ? Sometimes it's difficult to tell !
I read a similar article - admin ''fees'' being disguised as taxes / duties etc but someones got to pay for the extra paperwork I suppose.

[Horse]

And this:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-55530721

[Mr. Dazzle]

I can see why many small firms are simply saying "CBA" when it comes to selling to the UK now. Its all very well saying the burden has been minimised, which is may well have been, but its still a burden.

Firms like Amazon and Tesco will already have offices full of import/export staff so for them it may well be OK. For little guys it probably ain't worth the hassle.

[Mussels]

Seeing this more and more at the moment with KTM stuff, wahoo stuff etc. Basically now we're out of the EU we pay duty, plus handling fees.

These can be quite a chunk, £50 item bloke was charged £42 in fees etc.

That doesn't sound right, who charged the fees? I've found Royal Mail stick big fees on anything needing duty paid but we don't pay duty on goods from the EU. As in the BBC link EU shops register for UK VAT and it is paid by the consumer at point of purchase. Those shops should remove EU VAT so the price difference won't be much.
I can understand why some EU shops stop selling to the UK and even some adding extra on top to cover their costs but any unexpected charges sound fishy.

[Skub]

It'll settle down eventually.

[weeksy]

Seeing this more and more at the moment with KTM stuff, wahoo stuff etc. Basically now we're out of the EU we pay duty, plus handling fees.

These can be quite a chunk, £50 item bloke was charged £42 in fees etc.

That doesn't sound right, who charged the fees? I've found Royal Mail stick big fees on anything needing duty paid but we don't pay duty on goods from the EU. As in the BBC link EU shops register for UK VAT and it is paid by the consumer at point of purchase. Those shops should remove EU VAT so the price difference won't be much.
I can understand why some EU shops stop selling to the UK and even some adding extra on top to cover their costs but any unexpected charges sound fishy.

I don't think it's long term, i think it's simply a confusion of rules and enforcement. But that doesn't mean it's not happening. I think in a number of weeks/months it may all go away.

[moth]

Fees I can get, but duty?

Out of curiosity what were you buying? AIUI 'most' items are tax free still.

Edit: BTW I expect this to be a short/medium term thing. The extra paperwork burden means things are going to be more expensive from the EU essentially forever from now on, but as people get used to them and specialists er....specialise....they'll get more efficient (i.e. cheaper) at it.

The EU has a transition period until July 1st. Britain was offered the same deal, we turned it down.

From January 1st this applies.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abro ... d936efefc5

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-imports ... rom-abroad

and

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... businesses?

Dunno if non-members can see this

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/12/br ... d-to-know/

Yet another Brexit benefit.

Taking back sovereignty

[Noggin]

I can see why many small firms are simply saying "CBA" when it comes to selling to the UK now. Its all very well saying the burden has been minimised, which is may well have been, but its still a burden.

Firms like Amazon and Tesco will already have offices full of import/export staff so for them it may well be OK. For little guys it probably ain't worth the hassle.

It's happening a lot going the other way. Food, clothes other stuff people would order from the uk - many smaller firms just aren't shipping out here

Seeing this more and more at the moment with KTM stuff, wahoo stuff etc. Basically now we're out of the EU we pay duty, plus handling fees.

These can be quite a chunk, £50 item bloke was charged £42 in fees etc.

That doesn't sound right, who charged the fees? I've found Royal Mail stick big fees on anything needing duty paid but we don't pay duty on goods from the EU. As in the BBC link EU shops register for UK VAT and it is paid by the consumer at point of purchase. Those shops should remove EU VAT so the price difference won't be much.
I can understand why some EU shops stop selling to the UK and even some adding extra on top to cover their costs but any unexpected charges sound fishy.

There have also been quite a few scams this side of the channel where people have been told they have to pay duty/VAT whatever to get their parcel but actually the person requesting it is nothing to do with the shipper or the carrier

However, things like some foodstuffs (bacon and cheddar are a big topic on pages I'm on) can't be sent here from the UK. So at least one company in Ireland is making a killing on being able to send those here!! They operated before, but now friends and family can't bring stuff over, they are on a winner for being able to ship it!!

I don't think it's long term, i think it's simply a confusion of rules and enforcement. But that doesn't mean it's not happening. I think in a number of weeks/months it may all go away.

I think/hope it will. No one had any notice of what the regulations would be so many companies aren't set up to do it correctly. Hopefully once things settle down and people are given/understand the regulations then it should be relatively ok. But I do think some places will be more expensive to ship to/from the EU to cover the extra paperwork/training etc. And some might stop totally

[Taipan]

Parcelforce add a £14 handling fee to any duty too.

[Horse]

However, things like some foodstuffs (bacon and cheddar are a big topic on pages I'm on) can't be sent here from the UK. t stop totally

Story on the news recently about a truck driver having his ham sarnies confiscated at customs!

[Mr. Dazzle]

You've always had to pay VAT on stuff you got from Europe, the only thing that is changing is how/when it's paid and who does the paperwork.

There used to be quite a scam involving VAT and Europe, but I don't remember the details. Something about shipping stuff back and forth and claiming the VAT had been paid in two different countries while profiting off the difference in rates between countries. Presumably there will be a whole new kind of VAT crime instead now

[Wreckless Rat]

As an importing nation, the EU truckers refusing to deliver to the UK will be short lived or filled with UK truckers taking the work on.

As an importing nation - new supply routes will soon spring open, and lets be honest the EU is currently trying to be as awkward as possible, but it will wane when they see the impact to their own businesses.

As for inbound charges - the PO are fuckers for their handling fees and poor understanding of what should have a duty applied.

I can’t get too wound up about it all, everyone knew there would be transitioning period issues and costs. I import stuff from Australia and get hit with duty etc, you just learn to factor it in.

Long term we will hopefully unshackle ourselves from the bullying, bureaucracy the EU is and when Germany invaded France once again, let’s hope we stay out of it.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Royal Mail are useless when it comes to customs.

I sometimes buy T-Shirts from threadless.com, they have a $10 sale every so often so I buy a few. Since they come from the US I always factor in the expected VAT and customs.

Sometimes they turn up with no charges. Sometimes its just with a paperwork fee. Sometimes its with a paperwork fee plus VAT plus another VAT paperwork fee. Random number generator basically.

I can only imagine the havoc that has been wrought on them by this. Too bad I say....FedEx and UPS seem to manage just fine.

[Noggin]

However, things like some foodstuffs (bacon and cheddar are a big topic on pages I'm on) can't be sent here from the UK. t stop totally

Story on the news recently about a truck driver having his ham sarnies confiscated at customs!

Yup. Pretty harsh as it was in the first few days of the new year/nw regs but to be fair - it is now illegal to bring dairy and meat across, so . . . .

You've always had to pay VAT on stuff you got from Europe, the only thing that is changing is how/when it's paid and who does the paperwork.

There used to be quite a scam involving VAT and Europe, but I don't remember the details. Something about shipping stuff back and forth and claiming the VAT had been paid in two different countries while profiting off the difference in rates between countries. Presumably there will be a whole new kind of VAT crime instead now

I read on an FB page I'm on that you should pay the VAT in the country of purchase - so then shouldn't have to pay again in the country of destination

BUT - that could have been an FB KAFA and I doubt they'd read the new regs either!! LOL

And not really sure what 'duty' means - I'm guessing it isn't VAT again, so what is it?

There are bound to be a load of scams all round this

For years a friend of mine who lived in Switzerland and had a holiday home in France had a little 'compartment' in her car for Cheese. The Swiss didn't allow you to take cheese across the border. So if she bought meat and cheese she'd buy them separately and show the customs guys the receipt for the meat and hope no one took the car apart to find the cheese!!! (I think the compartment was an under seat hideyhole that was for valuables or something, but not obvious and perfect for a bit of ilegal cheese!! LOL)

[Mr. Dazzle]

My understanding is that the final purchaser pays the VAT. So if I buy something in France I'd pay French VAT, but if I then sell it on in the UK the person who buys it from me would pay British VAT, I can then claim back the French VAT if I prove I sold it.

I think the crime was to sell it to 'a mate' and claim back the VAT fraudulently. If French VAT was say 10% but British only 5% I could pay the British 5%, claim the French 10% and still keep the stuff as well, pocketing the 5% difference. Or something like that.

[Yambo]

The Turks abandoned all value limits on what could be imported tax free over a year ago. I pay 18% tax on anything from outside Turkey, even birthday or Christmas presents. At least I know how much it'll be and I usually ask the sender to put a lower value of the paperwork so I can reduce the tax. A lot do but some don't. C'est la vie.

Luckily it's getting better here finding decent quality things so I don't have to import much and sometimes you just have to work with what's available locally.