Import duty / tax

funscott

I have been selling items on ebay for a few years now and have now come up with a problem (a good problem to have).

I sell in a market where i have very little competition and i now have a couple of customers who purchase regularly off me. the product retails for £300+ in the uk ). at the moment I am importing the product from abroad and have not been charged import duty on them. my current volumes are 40 pieces per month so a fair bit of money for a part time ebay seller. I purchase the items from my foreign supplier for around £35 including delivery.

should i be paying import duty on a package (40 units) which costs me £1400,or on £12000 retail price.

last batch i received was only valued at £20 per unit and wasnt charged anything.or should i let it continue until customs decide to bill me?

noh

You should be paying import duty and VAT on the amount the goods cost you.

As the importer of the goods you are legally responsible for the information on the Customs declaration made by the sender and for any charges due.

Another thing is at your level of turnover you should be VAT registered. Are you?

funscott

thought i didnt have to be vat registered until i hit £61000 turnover?

so it is my responsibily to declare unit prices of £35

and pay £5.25 (vat 15%) per item.

anyone know import duty on computer accessories?

AHAR

funscott wrote: »

anyone know import duty on computer accessories?

It depends which of the umpteen categories they fall into
http://online.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/tariffFilter?r.s=a&export=false&r.lc=en

funscott

i think i fall under this

hxxp://online.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/tariffFilter?key.commodityCode=9001109090&r.s=a&export=false&r.lc=en&simulationDate=6/12/09

optical fibre component (for sending data via optical fibre)

fantasy_dreams

isn't import duty the same as VAT ?

also are you paying VAT on the goods ? If you pay import duty here, you shouldn't have to pay VAT (or their equivavlent) to your wholesaler.

noh

fantasy_dreams wrote: »

isn't import duty the same as VAT ?

also are you paying VAT on the goods ? If you pay import duty here, you shouldn't have to pay VAT (or their equivavlent) to your wholesaler.

No import duty and VAT are separate.
If you import goods from outside the EEC you are liable for import duty and VAT both paid to HMRC.

noh

funscott wrote: »

thought i didnt have to be vat registered until i hit £61000 turnover?

so it is my responsibily to declare unit prices of £35

and pay £5.25 (vat 15%) per item.

anyone know import duty on computer accessories?

Yes it is.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073790604

VAT registration threshold is £68000 turnover in the previous 12 months.
Assumed that at £12000 a month you may have got there already.

funscott

£12000 is the retail price in the uk. i am turning over 4000 or less per month.

harryhound

Your turnover is what you sell at, not what you buy at???
That is why it is called Value ADDED Tax.
(Only if it is coming from outside the EU you are deemed to have added all the value.
Get it back if you then export outside the EU)

Are you saying that UK retailers are selling at rip off prices and you are managing to undercut them by a large margin.

co123456

Tax is calculated on the CIF cost. The CIF cost is:

Cost of goods (i.e. The amount you paid for them)
Insurance (The cost of the shipping insurance)
Freight (The freight cost)

You need to be a little more specific about the product in order to classify for customs. Most of my stuff (Telecommunications) is under heading 8517 and duty free. Without additional information, I would be cautious about items in heading 9001.

PM me the product details and I'll find you a commodity code backed up with a ruling.

Many 'technology' products can be imported duty free, however you want to be 100% certain of your commodity code classification from the outset.