VAT on purchase from Canada less than £135

SoozyJ22

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right sub-forum but I know there are lots of people here who are knowledgeable about buying from abroad.

I'm interested in buying some sandals from: https://jimmiesfootwear.com/products/buy-foldable-shower-sandals

The sandals are being advertised to me (in the UK) on social media and are priced in GBP (£24) but the postage page states they will be posted from Canada. The postage page also states that "International orders may be subject to import duties, VAT, and handling fees upon delivery. These charges are assessed by local customs authorities and are the responsibility of the customer. Jimmies Footwear has no control over these fees and cannot predict their amount."

I went to the HMRC pages to see how much I might be charged and it seems to say that for goods under £135 the seller should be collecting the VAT rather than me being charged at the point of import "

"Goods worth £135 or less in total

If you bought the goods yourself and they are not excise goods, the seller will have included VAT in the total you paid."

This is from the page https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Is my understanding of the HMRC information correct? It seems to be a small business with reviews talking about great customer service so I was planning to contact them to discuss the discrepancy with the information on their website but want to make sure I've not misunderstood anything first.

Any clarification will be gratefully received, thanks.

Brie

Can't help with the VAT but a place that's showing someone doing some solid hiking of the sort that needs poles and suggests that sandals are good footwear - well I wouldn't trust them too far. And the price suggests these are very very cheap. I bought a pair of Birkenstock type sandals from Marks Work Wearhouse last spring and they were $89+PST+GST (like VAT but worse) so about £50 and that was at half price.

And I can't see any info on where to return them to if required. The only reference to where the company is is a comment about Calgary. To me that's not good enough. And the only contact is by email that is a .com address. I half expected to see a .ca address for a Canadian company but .com may be popular as well.

Finally - I never buy anything that's advertised on social media. Nearly got caught once but managed to wriggle out of it.

I may be completely wrong but do ask a few more questions before you order anything - like more info on their returns policy including what address would be used. And then google map that to see if it's likely. I ran across a lot of businesses recently that appeared to be doing all their admin and manufacturing out of the same one room office in Toronto.

(and no I'm def not anti Canadian but I'm anti scammers who take advantage of the popularity of a friendly nation)

SoozyJ22

I'm not intending to hike in them, but carry them with me when hiking and then put them on at the end of the day when my feet need a rest and a breather. I'm not worried about returning them, if they don't work for me I'll just give them to a charity shop. I've seen enough good reviews that I'm willing to give them a try for the stated price, but I don't want to be hit with extra charges (courier fees are likely to be higher than the VAT).

Spoonie_Turtle

If they're shady about other basic info (returns etc.) then you run a high risk that they won't be collecting VAT as a properly-run international business should be, and you'll be hit not only with the VAT but also an extra handling fee (used to be £8 for Royal Mail, higher for other couriers) before you even get the parcel to see if they're worth it.

forgotmyname

If that is not a Chinese drop shipper I will eat a pair of those sandals.

Contact is hello@ ?

You can contact them just to say Hi?

Typing Jimmies into the search on Ali-Express comes up with Foldable Sandals as the top
search even before typing the full name.

I did not see a single mention of a company and address in any country never mind one in Canada.
Usually you get company name trading as.. But their terms and conditions etc is so generic it may as well say nothing.

soolin

I wouldn’t touch them personally.

HMRC cannot police a Canadian seller, so if they don’t collect the required VAT and duties you will need to pay them, also of course importing things into the UK costs more than just the VAT.

superbigal

As per poster above. Find the goods on a more reputable platform like AliExpress where everything is done and no shocks.