vat on shipping?!

rustynash

hey guys
was just looking to buy a new microphone and found a seller/store who sells them at a good price, but add vat onto the price! this i thought a bit cheeky, but wasnt too fussed until i noticed they add vat onto the shipping!

surely they arent providing the service theyre paying for (royal mail) but then i know nothing about vat laws and the such..

am not going to buy from them but wondered if this was allowed?

frivolous_fay

I think it's permitted, but only if he's VAT registered, and it's stated on the auction.

rustynash

yeah it does say and he has a registration
i think its a bit slack though, they should include it in the price like many others as far as im concerned! :P

RFW

Although if registered for VAT, you don't pay VAT on Royal Mail or Parcelforce services (being Government owned) you do have to charge VAT on it when reselling.

They should really only have VAT to be added on business to business items on Ebay and nowhere else, but it is something of a grey area.

JohalaReewi

If the Ebay seller is trading and their turnover reaches a certain limit (per year), then they have to become VAT registered and charge VAT on their sales. Some include the VAT in the ebay price, others add it when you checkout.

The shipping will also attract VAT at the same rate as the item being shipped so if you buy a microphone with VAT at 17.5%, the shipping will also get VAT added at 17.5%

There was a thread a while ago about this but I can't find it at the moment.