Import from Europe but not the EU? Im confused

dekaspace

Ok so waiting for a parcel today and missed delivery, when I rang to rearrange I was told it had a £56 charge!

I was confused as it was Europe but googled it and its not part of EU.

What confuses me though is I paid in Euros as thats the currency they use!!

Its Andorra by the way.

So is import costs due or not?

tomvox

Andorra is not a member of the EU therefore normal duties apply as per imports from any country outside of the EU.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad

theonlywayisup

Andorra is a bit of a tax haven and certainly not in the EU.

dlusman

dekaspace wrote: »

What confuses me though is I paid in Euros as thats the currency they use!!

Currency is somewhat irrelevant. I could pay for something in the UK in Euros/ US dollars / mexican jumping beans if company was willing to accept them

dekaspace

dlusman wrote: »

Currency is somewhat irrelevant. I could pay for something in the UK in Euros/ US dollars / mexican jumping beans if company was willing to accept them

Of course, but the reason for the confusion was their actual currency is the Euro.

I wasn't saying they were in the EU as such, but noticed they have certain agreements which seem complicated and they use the Euro so it seemed a strange one to me.

theonlywayisup

dekaspace wrote: »

Of course, but the reason for the confusion was their actual currency is the Euro.

I wasn't saying they were in the EU as such, but noticed they have certain agreements which seem complicated and they use the Euro so it seemed a strange one to me.

I don't know how many countries there are that use it that aren't in the EU but certainly Monaco used it when I was last there and it isn't in the EU.

molerat

Google comes up with

Andorra did not have an official currency before adopting the euro, and unlike its two larger neighbours, France and Spain, which surround it, it is not a member of the EU. However it de facto used the EU's euro (the currency of the Eurozone states) as it had historically used the French franc and Spanish peseta.

along with Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino


and as for other countries using a foreign currency as their own

The US dollar is used as official currency in several countries besides the United States. Ecuador and Zimbabwe both switched to the US dollar after financial crises made their local currencies worthless. Other countries, such as Panama, Cambodia, and the Bahamas, use the US dollar alongside their own currencies.

martindow

I regularly import from China where companies invoice in Euros or US Dollars. An Indian company invoices in GB Pounds. So the currency is unrelated to the country involved.


Regarding Andorra, their VAT rate is 4.5% or even lower for some categories so even though you will pay UK VAT it should have started out at a very good price.

z1a

Canaries use €, they aren't in EU.

dlusman

z1a wrote: »

Canaries use €, they aren't in EU.

Canary islands are not separate countries - they are part of Spain, and so are in the EU ( as are the Balearics )

Alter_ego

Britain use £ and is in the EU, but not in the euro