Anyone importing from china and ebaying? - Need some advice.

Brooker_Dave

RFW wrote: »

Thank you, that does indeed clarify my point
"You must not use the approved LVBI concession for imports of low value commercial goods. This is one of the conditions of the LVBI authorisation."
I believe importing to sell would class them as commercial goods.

If you are so sure that this is a profitable item, just do it yourself.

"Low value bulk import (LVBI) is a UK concession where couriers or fast parcel operators who regularly import bulk low value items to several consignees can apply to HMRC for approval to bulk their imports."

Is op a parcel operator?

Strapped

I think I may have to start a Brooker Dave fan club. :iloveyou: He's subtle with his trolling. :T

Cornucopia

Here's a more user-friendly guide...

https://www.gov.uk/importing-and-exporting-by-post

For goods sent from non-EU countries you have to pay VAT if they’re worth more than £15

The value you pay VAT on includes:

• local sales taxes
• postage, packaging
• insurance
• any duty already charged

You pay duty on goods from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value.... Under £135 - no duty

Hopefully that clears the air a bit...

lovinituk

You could slap Dave in the face with the facts and he would still come up with his own version

Cornucopia

lovinituk wrote: »

You could slap Dave in the face with the facts and he would still come up with his own version

I must have missed something - that confirms that the exemption on VAT/Duty for items under £15 is absolute - it does not matter if it is part of a bigger business.

lovinituk

Cornucopia wrote: »

I must have missed something - that confirms that the exemption on VAT/Duty for items under £15 is absolute - it does not matter if it is part of a bigger business.

I wasn't referring to your post, just Brooker Dave in general. He is like this on every thread he ever posts on.

RFW

Cornucopia wrote: »

I must have missed something - that confirms that the exemption on VAT/Duty for items under £15 is absolute - it does not matter if it is part of a bigger business.

So does that mean that the business doesn't have to pay it at any point, or just the point of entry?

It's fairly immaterial anyway, importing one at a time is at best a daft thing to do.

Cornucopia

RFW wrote: »

So does that mean that the business doesn't have to pay it at any point, or just the point of entry?

It doesn't have to be paid at all - it is "not due" in HMRC language.

It's fairly immaterial anyway, importing one at a time is at best a daft thing to do.

There are cheaper products where a shipment of 5-10 items might be doable within the £15 limit.

e.g. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/cheapest-MINI-Flash-Gift-clip-MP3-Player-with-Clip-control-8-color-support-8GB-Micro-SD/497525959.html

RFW

Cornucopia wrote: »

It doesn't have to be paid at all - it is "not due" in HMRC language.

Wouldn't this mean that if an item was more than that value, but hadn't been charged, the same would be true. I was advised that either needed to be declared.

Cornucopia

RFW wrote: »

Wouldn't this mean that if an item was more than that value, but hadn't been charged, the same would be true. I was advised that either needed to be declared.

The issue is that the declaration is made (at least initially) by the seller. Even individual, tiny value eBay items come with a type & value declaration. In fact, and to indicate the volumes involved, many Chinese exporters use Jiffy bags that are pre-printed with the declaration.

Two issues arise, I would have thought:-

1. The declared value is lower than the actual value.
2. The declared value is accurate, but the courier company fails to pick up the need to charge duty/VAT, and the amount of duty concerned is higher than the £9 minimum.

In those cases, it would be appropriate to raise the matter with HMRC. Whether they would be bothered by it on a one-off/small value basis, I don't know.