Ebay and VAT on "imports"?

Spoonie_Turtle

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

AT181

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

I wondered what Amazon and other multi-nationals handled the tax issue. Seems logical if not overly complex and thus long winded!

martindow

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

Spoonie_Turtle

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

Add far as I understand, no - before it was that they would collect money for import VAT and fees to pay to whomever cleared the things at customs (who would then pay the VAT to HMRC).  This way there's no third party and no uncertainty about how much will be charged.  It also used to depend on the exchange rate at the time of entering the country, which would often be different from the exchange rate used by the retailer as well, but now it's just a % of the price at the time of sale, simple, and no extra charges e.g. courier handling fees. 

I am happy to be corrected if my understanding of the previous arrangement is off, though.

Spoonie_Turtle

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

As far as I understand, no - before it was that they would collect money for import VAT and fees to pay to whomever cleared the things at customs (who would then pay the VAT to HMRC).  This way there's no third party and no uncertainty about how much will be charged.  It also used to depend on the exchange rate at the time of entering the country, which would often be different from the exchange rate used by the retailer as well, but now it's just a % of the price at the time of sale, simple, and no extra charges e.g. courier handling fees. 

I am happy to be corrected if my understanding of the previous arrangement is off, though.

RFW

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

It's always been automatic in the past.

RFW

Spoonie_Turtle said:

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

Add far as I understand, no - before it was that they would collect money for import VAT and fees to pay to whomever cleared the things at customs (who would then pay the VAT to HMRC).  This way there's no third party and no uncertainty about how much will be charged.  It also used to depend on the exchange rate at the time of entering the country, which would often be different from the exchange rate used by the retailer as well, but now it's just a % of the price at the time of sale, simple, and no extra charges e.g. courier handling fees. 

I am happy to be corrected if my understanding of the previous arrangement is off, though.

Amazon seem to have had their own clearing system. It looks to me as though Amazon have been using the system that everyone should now be using for the last couple of years, at least.
I don't claim to know how it works at an official level but as a very occasional importer nothing seems to have changed buying via Amazon.

Spoonie_Turtle

RFW said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

Add far as I understand, no - before it was that they would collect money for import VAT and fees to pay to whomever cleared the things at customs (who would then pay the VAT to HMRC).  This way there's no third party and no uncertainty about how much will be charged.  It also used to depend on the exchange rate at the time of entering the country, which would often be different from the exchange rate used by the retailer as well, but now it's just a % of the price at the time of sale, simple, and no extra charges e.g. courier handling fees. 

I am happy to be corrected if my understanding of the previous arrangement is off, though.

Amazon seem to have had their own clearing system. It looks to me as though Amazon have been using the system that everyone should now be using for the last couple of years, at least.
I don't claim to know how it works at an official level but as a very occasional importer nothing seems to have changed buying via Amazon.

Maybe Amazon are still doing their own thing then.  eBay have had the GSP for a while of course, but for us buying things internationally - outside of the GSP, at least - it's just a flat 20% addition at the time of sale.  Same with Etsy, Wish, AliExpress, etc., and just like overseas companies that have registered with HMRC to collect the import VAT from us and pay it directly to HMRC.

RFW

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

Add far as I understand, no - before it was that they would collect money for import VAT and fees to pay to whomever cleared the things at customs (who would then pay the VAT to HMRC).  This way there's no third party and no uncertainty about how much will be charged.  It also used to depend on the exchange rate at the time of entering the country, which would often be different from the exchange rate used by the retailer as well, but now it's just a % of the price at the time of sale, simple, and no extra charges e.g. courier handling fees. 

I am happy to be corrected if my understanding of the previous arrangement is off, though.

Amazon seem to have had their own clearing system. It looks to me as though Amazon have been using the system that everyone should now be using for the last couple of years, at least.
I don't claim to know how it works at an official level but as a very occasional importer nothing seems to have changed buying via Amazon.

Maybe Amazon are still doing their own thing then.  eBay have had the GSP for a while of course, but for us buying things internationally - outside of the GSP, at least - it's just a flat 20% addition at the time of sale.  Same with Etsy, Wish, AliExpress, etc., and just like overseas companies that have registered with HMRC to collect the import VAT from us and pay it directly to HMRC.

I thought I was responding to someone about a GSP charge that had included VAT when it was a zero rated item. Maybe I wasn't correct in that.

Spoonie_Turtle

RFW said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

martindow said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RFW said:

What is supposed to happen is that Ebay pay the fees upfront that would cover the maximum possible for clearing customs. What then happens is that customs says the charge is correct or says it is too much. In the latter case Ebay, or whoever is handling the transaction, refunds the buyer. I've had that happen a few times with Amazon. It takes an inexplicably long time and I then get a weird message that I've had 23p, or some other odd amount, refunded to my account.

No that's not correct any more, online marketplaces are now supposed to collect the VAT themselves and pay it to HMRC directly.

Spoonie, isn't that what RFW said, apart from overcollecting for items that shouldn't be charged at 20% such as books? 

RFW, does the refund happen automatically or do you need to trigger a refund in some way?

Add far as I understand, no - before it was that they would collect money for import VAT and fees to pay to whomever cleared the things at customs (who would then pay the VAT to HMRC).  This way there's no third party and no uncertainty about how much will be charged.  It also used to depend on the exchange rate at the time of entering the country, which would often be different from the exchange rate used by the retailer as well, but now it's just a % of the price at the time of sale, simple, and no extra charges e.g. courier handling fees. 

I am happy to be corrected if my understanding of the previous arrangement is off, though.

Amazon seem to have had their own clearing system. It looks to me as though Amazon have been using the system that everyone should now be using for the last couple of years, at least.
I don't claim to know how it works at an official level but as a very occasional importer nothing seems to have changed buying via Amazon.

Maybe Amazon are still doing their own thing then.  eBay have had the GSP for a while of course, but for us buying things internationally - outside of the GSP, at least - it's just a flat 20% addition at the time of sale.  Same with Etsy, Wish, AliExpress, etc., and just like overseas companies that have registered with HMRC to collect the import VAT from us and pay it directly to HMRC.

I thought I was responding to someone about a GSP charge that had included VAT when it was a zero rated item. Maybe I wasn't correct in that.

I don't think GSP was mentioned so I'd forgotten about it until your post about Amazon's system.  As the poster above said the book was "£price + VAT" I still assumed it was coming directly from the seller and not the GSP - but my assumption could easily be wrong.