VAT charged on eBay purchase from Germany

Belenus

Update.

The Blu Ray arrived this morning via the normal post. There was an eBay copy invoice in a plastic bag attached to the jiffy bag but this did not appear to have been opened by customs or anyone else.

The estimated delivery was 'Tue 21 Mar - Thu 30 Mar' so I can have no complaints and I will buy from this Germany based seller again.

DullGreyGuy

The outside should have had a custom's declaration... its not routine for parcels to be opened 

Belenus

I was referring to the bag containing the invoice and not to the jiffy bag itself.

This is it after I opened it up. I have deleted my name and address. Is that a custom's declaration?

mkGlasgow

Interested in a used bicycle frame for sale on ebay UK for around £500 from a seller located in Germany. So is that import duty and 20% VAT? And how does it get paid? Thank you.

jon81uk

mkGlasgow said:

Interested in a used bicycle frame for sale on ebay UK for around £500 from a seller located in Germany. So is that import duty and 20% VAT? And how does it get paid? Thank you.

I would expect the courier to pay HMRC for you and then invoice you for the VAT, duty and handling charge.

QrizB

jon81uk said:

mkGlasgow said:

Interested in a used bicycle frame for sale on ebay UK for around £500 from a seller located in Germany. So is that import duty and 20% VAT? And how does it get paid? Thank you.

I would expect the courier to pay HMRC for you and then invoice you for the VAT, duty and handling charge.

There's an argument that the DMCC Act bans these courier charges (although you still need to pay any duty and VAT) unless they were clearly displayed and included when you purchased the goods.

https://cms-lawnow.com/en/ealerts/2025/04/no-hidden-charges-clamping-down-on-drip-pricing