Help with potential charges buying from US seller on ebay

sebsy

Hi, 

I have just a quick query, but I'm struggling to find clear info ONLINE for how everything works now after Brexit.

There is an item I am trying to find the best price for. I have found a seller on ebay selling the item for £9.97 with free postage, but postage is from the US.

Under the old rules there would have been no customs charges as it is under £15, but I understand that now, there will still be VAT to pay of 20% which will be £2 approx.

That will make the total price £11.97. 

However, will Royal Mail now charge £8 for absolutely every item sent from abroad? It's a big jump from £12 - £20.

Thanks.

steviebabes

Ebay will collect the VAT not the delivery company. Any goods up to £135 the VAT is collected at the point of sale.

sebsy

steviebabes said:

Ebay will collect the VAT not the delivery company. Any goods up to £135 the VAT is collected at the point of sale.

Hi,

I've clicked BIN and signed in to PayPal but it hasn't added any VAT, and says the total is £9.97 still. Does that mean the £9.97 is already inclusive of the VAT?

Also, does this mean there will be no Royal Mail handling fee charge?

Spoonie_Turtle

steviebabes is correct.  Here's the official guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-in-the-uk-using-online-marketplaces

Incidentally this was a change to import VAT rules, not Brexit - though Brexit means we now have to pay import VAT on items from the EU (and customs duty, if over £135) whereas if we had not left, we wouldn't need to.

The EU are also scrapping their low threshold now, so if we hadn't left we would still now have to pay on things above £15 from anywhere outside the EU anyway. 

It's just the two things happened at once (scrapping the £15 LVCR, and Brexit) so people conflate the two.

sebsy

Spoonie_Turtle said:

steviebabes is correct.  Here's the official guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-in-the-uk-using-online-marketplaces

Incidentally this was a change to import VAT rules, not Brexit - though Brexit means we now have to pay import VAT on items from the EU (and customs duty, if over £135) whereas if we had not left, we wouldn't need to.

The EU are also scrapping their low threshold now, so if we hadn't left we would still now have to pay on things above £15 from anywhere outside the EU anyway. 

It's just the two things happened at once (scrapping the £15 LVCR, and Brexit) so people conflate the two.

Hi,

Thanks for that, it does help.

I'm still stuck on they Royal Mail element of things though. Will they now just charge an £8 handling fee for everything? 

MR1988

I think what sebsy is trying to ask is if we still have to pay Customs and Duty for items we order from outside here in UK or if it all happens when we buy the item. Which will inccur also an additional handling fee by the carrier.

It is a bit confusing the whole VAT, Customs and Duty Fees etc.

sebsy

MR1988 said:

I think what sebsy is trying to ask is if we still have to pay Customs and Duty for items we order from outside here in UK or if it all happens when we buy the item. Which will inccur also an additional handling fee by the carrier.

It is a bit confusing the whole VAT, Customs and Duty Fees etc.

Yes, the handling fee is what I really need to know about.

As I say, having clicked the BIN button and logged into PayPal, it is still saying my total charge is £9.97 no mention of any VAT. And, underneath the order total it says 'VAT added to priced based on delivery address. No additional customs charges will apply'.

To me that sounds like I shouldn't have to pay anything extra at all, but if it is being sent from the US I don't understand why that is the case, and don't want to end up with an unexpected handling fee.

Spoonie_Turtle

Online marketplaces collect the VAT (up to orders of £135) so there's no handling charge to pay. 

It's when independent businesses selling through their own website haven't registered with HMRC to collect the VAT that we would have to pay plus the handling fee once it enters the country. 

So eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Wish, AliExpress, all those kinds of sites are online marketplaces so the price we pay there includes the VAT, no further charges.

Didn't see your previous post before.  Whatever the BIN price ends up, that is the total you will pay including VAT.  eBay will have collected the VAT so it will go straight through customs and there will be nothing for Royal Mail (or any other delivery service) to do except deliver it.

ThisnotThat

sebsy said:

MR1988 said:

I think what sebsy is trying to ask is if we still have to pay Customs and Duty for items we order from outside here in UK or if it all happens when we buy the item. Which will inccur also an additional handling fee by the carrier.

It is a bit confusing the whole VAT, Customs and Duty Fees etc.

Yes, the handling fee is what I really need to know about.

As I say, having clicked the BIN button and logged into PayPal, it is still saying my total charge is £9.97 no mention of any VAT. And, underneath the order total it says 'VAT added to priced based on delivery address. No additional customs charges will apply'.

To me that sounds like I shouldn't have to pay anything extra at all, but if it is being sent from the US I don't understand why that is the case, and don't want to end up with an unexpected handling fee.

Then VAT has already been paid (by eBay) and there is no handling fee as RM won't have to deal with customs.

sebsy

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Online marketplaces collect the VAT (up to orders of £135) so there's no handling charge to pay. 

It's when independent businesses selling through their own website haven't registered with HMRC to collect the VAT that we would have to pay plus the handling fee once it enters the country. 

So eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Wish, AliExpress, all those kinds of sites are online marketplaces so the price we pay there includes the VAT, no further charges.

Didn't see your previous post before.  Whatever the BIN price ends up, that is the total you will pay including VAT.  eBay will have collected the VAT so it will go straight through customs and there will be nothing for Royal Mail (or any other delivery service) to do except deliver it.

ThisnotThat said:

sebsy said:

MR1988 said:

I think what sebsy is trying to ask is if we still have to pay Customs and Duty for items we order from outside here in UK or if it all happens when we buy the item. Which will inccur also an additional handling fee by the carrier.

It is a bit confusing the whole VAT, Customs and Duty Fees etc.

Yes, the handling fee is what I really need to know about.

As I say, having clicked the BIN button and logged into PayPal, it is still saying my total charge is £9.97 no mention of any VAT. And, underneath the order total it says 'VAT added to priced based on delivery address. No additional customs charges will apply'.

To me that sounds like I shouldn't have to pay anything extra at all, but if it is being sent from the US I don't understand why that is the case, and don't want to end up with an unexpected handling fee.

Then VAT has already been paid (by eBay) and there is no handling fee as RM won't have to deal with customs.

Thanks both,

Really appreciate all the help guys.

Have ordered the item now and it now shows as £8.31 in my purchase history, which is the pre-vat price and makes perfect sense.

MR1988

I as well ordered something from Japan recently which cost about £52 in total after VAT and Shipping was added. Really curious if there will be any other fees to pay when it reaches, but hopefully there won't be.