Another BREXIT Dividend

Gazdok

Just going through some parts that I am going to order from Aliexpress. At the order screen the price changes. A section that has never been there before - tax - is added. It has got a help icon which tells you all about the newly introduced VAT since 23h 31.12.20. These items were exempt under EU rules to a certain limit.
The UK makes good use of its "new powers" and sovereignty.

PeeWee_999

I have been buying from Aliexpress for many years and was surprised by the announcement over the New Year for them to  introduce prepaid VAT. However,  I welcomed this, in preference to being asked, almost at random, by the Post Office to pay tax plus their £8 charge for collecting this duty. With Fedex, this is £12 extra. However, on recent Aliexpress deliveries, I have noticed that these,  like many from China, still came via a third party warehouse in London, who re-label it and forward it by local mail. Thus, I can only assume, Aliexpress is still using their 'postal channels' to evade Customs and are now adding bogus charges for VAT. Which now means, they, as drop shippers, make more profit from us but the original supplier still gets paid the same amount and the UK revenue still doesn't get paid. I am sure this is the case, because when I buy goods from the USA and previously from outside the EU (when we were still in it) I always paid VAT with the order or on delivery and it had clearly gone through Customs and been acknowledged as prepaid.

tacpot12

There will be other "dividends"...

powerful_Rogue

Gazdok said:

Just going through some parts that I am going to order from Aliexpress. At the order screen the price changes. A section that has never been there before - tax - is added. It has got a help icon which tells you all about the newly introduced VAT since 23h 31.12.20. These items were exempt under EU rules to a certain limit.
The UK makes good use of its "new powers" and sovereignty.

The EU are implementing this shortly as well, so not really a Brexit thing.

jon81uk

Gazdok said:

Just going through some parts that I am going to order from Aliexpress. At the order screen the price changes. A section that has never been there before - tax - is added. It has got a help icon which tells you all about the newly introduced VAT since 23h 31.12.20. These items were exempt under EU rules to a certain limit.
The UK makes good use of its "new powers" and sovereignty.

Not really to do with Brexit. The EU is also ending low value consignment relief. Both EU and UK wanted to stop the cheap imports that don't pay tax.

UK info here Changes to VAT treatment of overseas goods sold to customers from 1 January 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

EU info New form of customs declaration for low value consignments | Taxation and Customs Union (europa.eu)

jon81uk

PeeWee_999 said:

I have been buying from Aliexpress for many years and was surprised by the announcement over the New Year for them to  introduce prepaid VAT. However,  I welcomed this, in preference to being asked, almost at random, by the Post Office to pay tax plus their £8 charge for collecting this duty. With Fedex, this is £12 extra. However, on recent Aliexpress deliveries, I have noticed that these,  like many from China, still came via a third party warehouse in London, who re-label it and forward it by local mail. Thus, I can only assume, Aliexpress is still using their 'postal channels' to evade Customs and are now adding bogus charges for VAT. Which now means, they, as drop shippers, make more profit from us but the original supplier still gets paid the same amount and the UK revenue still doesn't get paid. I am sure this is the case, because when I buy goods from the USA and previously from outside the EU (when we were still in it) I always paid VAT with the order or on delivery and it had clearly gone through Customs and been acknowledged as prepaid.

Under the new rules AliExpress should pay the VAT direct to HMRC for everything under £135. So the shipping method shouldn't evade it.

MidlandsGlory

Not evading the tax as before has obviously put the price up on Ali, but I am finding things coming through faster now, perhaps they pass through customs easier now assumed to have been duty paid by the vendor.  Just this morning something has arrived I ordered late on the 26th Jan sent by good old Yanwen. Cost £10.11 including VAT, same item on Ebay cheapest price £19.17