eBay: changes to European Exports

olgadapolga

Received an email earlier from eBay about this - I don't ship outside of the UK, however it seems that eBay are going to enrol everyone into the GSP by 1st July so those that don't ship abroad will have to opt out (again).

Text of message:

From 1 July, and in line with new legislation, eBay will collect VAT on all goods which are sold through eBay and shipped to buyers in the European Union (EU) with a consignment value up to EUR150. eBay will collect VAT on all sales to private individuals, regardless of seller status. eBay will declare the VAT collected under our Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) number.

As EU customs need to identify if VAT has already been paid for EU imports, eBay’s IOSS number needs to be shared electronically with carriers. In cases where eBay has collected VAT and the goods are shipped from the UK, you are responsible for sharing eBay’s IOSS number with your carrier. Failure to share eBay’s IOSS will lead to buyers paying VAT again on delivery. Note that the Post Office systems do not accept a manually provided IOSS number.

If you continue sending parcels through the Post Office without pre-purchasing labels through Click & Drop or the other alternatives set out below, your buyers may have to pay VAT again on delivery.

To simplify the process, we will enrol you into the Global Shipping Programme (GSP) by 1 July. You will receive an email once we have successfully opted you in with further details and a link to opt-out should you wish to do so. GSP will ensure that the IOSS is correctly transmitted and that all customs charges/processes/international delivery is taken care of. All you have to do after a sale transaction is post your parcel to the UK Shipping Centre. Learn more here.

If you wish to continue to post packages to Europe yourself using the Royal Mail or an express carrier service, the alternative postage methods available to you, where you can electronically declare eBay IOSS to your carrier are:

•

eBay labels Packlink. Read more here.

•

Royal Mail Click & Drop account linked to eBay account. Labels can be dropped off at the Post Office once printed. Read more here.

•

Buy postage online with a carrier (Hermes/Parcel2Go/DPD/UPS) and electronically declare eBay’s IOSS number.

martindow

I really don't see the problem and resitance to using GSP.  It is no different to sending domestically as Ebay take on the risk once received by the UK address.  If the international customer is willing to pay whatever charge is made, what is the downside?

I rarely use Ebay, but selling from my website into Europe is now deeply problematic and it used to make up about 20% of my turnover.  To use IOSS I would need to employ an agent in the EU or pay a UK company several hundred pounds annually to deal with it on my behalf.  Ebay is offering to do this at no extra charge which seems a good deal to me.

Still waiting for my Brexit dividend ...

RFW

martindow said:

I really don't see the problem and resitance to using GSP.  It is no different to sending domestically as Ebay take on the risk once received by the UK address.  If the international customer is willing to pay whatever charge is made, what is the downside?

I rarely use Ebay, but selling from my website into Europe is now deeply problematic and it used to make up about 20% of my turnover.  To use IOSS I would need to employ an agent in the EU or pay a UK company several hundred pounds annually to deal with it on my behalf.  Ebay is offering to do this at no extra charge which seems a good deal to me.

Still waiting for my Brexit dividend ...

I agree on all points. If a customer wants to pay GSP fees from wherever it's no different to selling in the UK. As far as I can see you're essentially selling it to Ebay who then sell it to their overseas customer.
Just on one small point it isn't just Brexit that's screwing up EU sales there have been changes within the EU that are making it doubly difficult for sellers to ship there. Germany were the first to bring it in and I found it way too prohibitive along with Brexit changes to continue selling there. It's not a big deal for me but I know it is for others.

Archergirl

Forgive me if I’m being dense but the highest value item I sell is £10. I am not VAT registered as I don’t sell enough, what difference will this make to me,I sell abroad and UK. They have already enrolled me to GSP.

martindow

RFW said:
Just on one small point it isn't just Brexit that's screwing up EU sales there have been changes within the EU that are making it doubly difficult for sellers to ship there. Germany were the first to bring it in and I found it way too prohibitive along with Brexit changes to continue selling there. It's not a big deal for me but I know it is for others.

While it is true that there have been recent changes with VAT arrangements for imports into the EU, without Brexit we would have been able to export and import within the community as before,without worrying about VAT and customs problems. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Archergirl said:

Forgive me if I’m being dense but the highest value item I sell is £10. I am not VAT registered as I don’t sell enough, what difference will this make to me,I sell abroad and UK. They have already enrolled me to GSP.

European buyers have to pay Import VAT on goods they buy from outside the EU, the same as we have to pay on things we buy from outside the UK regardless of whether it's from a private individual, a small business, or a VAT-registered business.  (The only things we don't pay import VAT for are gifts under £39.)

For items under a certain value (€150 I believe, or £135 for us) Ebay collect the VAT by adding it to the price you sell for, then paying it to whomever collects it in the EU and the seller gets the original price the item sold for.  Likewise if we buy from anywhere outside the UK, eBay charge us for the VAT at the time we buy then pay it to HMRC.  

MR1988

I rarely sell outside UK and when I do it's usually under £100. It's too much of a hassle especially when you have troublesome buyers who wish to return.

Does this change anything for me? Or do I just go about with filling in the customs form and posting the item in the rare occurance I have an international sale?

soolin

MR1988 said:

I rarely sell outside UK and when I do it's usually under £100. It's too much of a hassle especially when you have troublesome buyers who wish to return.

Does this change anything for me? Or do I just go about with filling in the customs form and posting the item in the rare occurance I have an international sale?

You now need export codes if you want to ship overseas unless it is via GSP. 

Spoonie_Turtle

soolin said:

MR1988 said:

I rarely sell outside UK and when I do it's usually under £100. It's too much of a hassle especially when you have troublesome buyers who wish to return.

Does this change anything for me? Or do I just go about with filling in the customs form and posting the item in the rare occurance I have an international sale?

You now need export codes if you want to ship overseas unless it is via GSP. 

Indeed.  The info from eBay above seems to imply you just need the IOSS code to say eBay have already collected the VAT.

If you wish to continue to post packages to Europe yourself using the Royal Mail or an express carrier service, the alternative postage methods available to you, where you can electronically declare eBay IOSS to your carrier are:

• eBay labels Packlink. Read more here.

• Royal Mail Click & Drop account linked to eBay account. Labels can be dropped off at the Post Office once printed. Read more here.

• Buy postage online with a carrier (Hermes/Parcel2Go/DPD/UPS) and electronically declare eBay’s IOSS number.

So through eBay presumably it would come up on a postage label like the system tracking codes already do, and as some people have found for Australia already when they brought in their GST a couple of years ago.

RFW

martindow said:

RFW said:
Just on one small point it isn't just Brexit that's screwing up EU sales there have been changes within the EU that are making it doubly difficult for sellers to ship there. Germany were the first to bring it in and I found it way too prohibitive along with Brexit changes to continue selling there. It's not a big deal for me but I know it is for others.

While it is true that there have been recent changes with VAT arrangements for imports into the EU, without Brexit we would have been able to export and import within the community as before,without worrying about VAT and customs problems. 

The changes are listed here. They come into effect across the EU in July but several countries have introduced it earlier (Germany did over a year ago, I stopped selling there prior to Brexit).
https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report-international/online-sellers-be-ready-for-eu-vat-and-customs-changes

Archergirl

Well not sure how it works “ and the seller gets the original price the item sold for.” But perhaps I will give it a go, people were always impressed with my super speedy postage but maybe it will take longer now ....