Import VAT charges on orders from the EU?

V12enks

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could provide further insight in to how one can assess accurateness of customs charges.

I am being charges nearly £70 on an order which cost just over 420 Euros from Germany. I orded from this company jsut over a year ago, the order was smaller (about £150 total) but I wasn't charged anything, order just arrived at my doorstep in 2-3 days and the entire process was completely hassle free.

I am just wondering whether the laws have changed in this regard or what. I remember coming across a VAT calculator on here at one point but can't find it now.

la531983

You likely paid the VAT up front on last years consignment

At that cost (420 euros) however you are getting the double whammy of import duty as well as VAT

You may also be getting charged a handling fee within that £70 by whoever delivered/is delivering the package, as they pay the charges on your behalf and then are billing you.

V12enks

la531983 said:

You likely paid the VAT up front on last years consignment

At that cost (420 euros) however you are getting the double whammy of import duty as well as VAT

You may also be getting charged a handling fee within that £70 by whoever delivered/is delivering the package, as they pay the charges on your behalf and then are billing you.

The total cost from HMRC in this case, to be more precise is:

Import VAT: £6952

Clearence Fee (zero rated for VAT): £12.00

Total: £81.52

Customs Duty sits at Zero

As far as I was aware, there's no duty on goods imported from the EU as an end-consumer at least.

The goods, in case anyone was wondering was fresh honey and some honey related products

la531983

V12enks said:

As far as I was aware, there's no duty on goods imported from the EU as an end-consumer at least.

Welcome to Brexit

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

See section under "customs duty"

The VAT looks to be roughly 20% of 420 euros though (at todays conversion rate), so that bit looks accurate at least.

DullGreyGuy

V12enks said:

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could provide further insight in to how one can assess accurateness of customs charges.

I am being charges nearly £70 on an order which cost just over 420 Euros from Germany. I orded from this company jsut over a year ago, the order was smaller (about £150 total) but I wasn't charged anything, order just arrived at my doorstep in 2-3 days and the entire process was completely hassle free.

I am just wondering whether the laws have changed in this regard or what. I remember coming across a VAT calculator on here at one point but can't find it now.

Any package under £135 the retailer should charge UK VAT up front and you pay nothing additional on delivery.

Any package over £135 you will have to pay UK VAT, potentially Duty (depends on goods and country of origin) and most likely a handling fee. Retailers can offer a fully landed price where they bill you these taxes up front and you pay nothing on import but it's a minority of sellers that offer this option. 

The exception to the above is if the goods are subject to Excise (eg Alcohol or Tobacco) in which case tax is always payable upon importation irrespective of the value of the package. 

All the rules for from the EU and RoW were changed when Brexit took effect.

Dont really need a VAT calculator... just take whatever you paid by 0.2. Note that if Duty is relevant then the VAT is paid on both what you've already paid plus the Duty.