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Old 20th May 2020, 7:58 pm   #1
David G4EBT
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Location: Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK.
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Default VAT & Customs Duty on imported items

I thought it might be of interest and help to mention the VAT & Customs charges that apply in the UK to goods sourced from overseas, and at what level they kick in, which is lower than we might imagine. (EG: VAT is payable on goods with £15.00 upwards declared value).

I guess that like many other forum members, I often buy items on ebay from China and sometimes elsewhere outside the UK, though not usually of any great value. The only expensive item I've imported was some years ago which was £75.00 on ebay from China and no import charges of any kind were levied, (though on the Customs declaration form the Chinese do have a tendency to describe goods as 'gifts' with a value of $1.00, but I’m sure that the UK Border Force are wise to that). I did however get charged VAT and a collection fee for a Christmas gift I bought from the USA for one of my granddaughters. (£120 GBP).

It’s also worth noting that even items sent as gifts by someone oversees to a UK recipient will attract VAT if the value stated on the Customs Declaration form is over £39.00. If the value is over £135.00 there will also be Import Duty.

Here's a verbatim clip from the Post Office website which outlines at what level VAT and Import Duty become payable, and how the charges are collected:

Quote:

Customs charges are calculated and applied by the UK Border Force on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). All mail sent to the United Kingdom may be checked by Border Force. Any charges applied will depend on the contents, where it was sent from and who sent it, but usually letters, postcards and parcels of documents are exempt.

Post Office Handling Fee:

To make sure you get your item as quickly as possible, we pay HMRC any Import VAT and/or Customs Duty charges on your behalf. We then send you a “Fee to Pay” card, showing how much you need to pay before you can receive your item. The amount you need to pay includes our £8 handling fee. This covers the costs for clearing the item through the customs process and presenting it to Border Force.

Items received from non-EU countries (Includes Channel Islands):

Value up to £15: No Import VAT, no Customs Duty.
Value over £15 up to £135 Import VAT but no Customs Duty.
Value over £135 Import VAT plus Customs Duty.

Gift sent from one individual to another:
Value up to £39: No Import VAT or Customs Duty.
Value over £39 up to £135: Import VAT, but no Customs Duty.
Value over £135: Both Import VAT and Customs Duty.

End quote.

Source:

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/defa...t-Jan-2017.pdf

Hence, to take an example of goods to the value of say £16.00, that would attract £3.20 VAT plus £8.00 Post Office Handling fee so the total cost would be £27.20. It all depends on how vigilant the UK Border Force are as to whether the package is checked. I guess that many small parcels will come in 'under the radar’ and that it’s mostly larger and heavier attract the attention of the UK Border Force that get pulled off the conveyor for checking.

I'm prompted to mention this topic as a friend has just received an electronics item from China bought on eBay, on which he incurred a total charge of £11.75. Given that £8.00 of that is the Post Office Collection fee, the remaining balance of £3.75 is VAT, as Customs Duty only becomes payable on goods over the value of £135.00, whereas VAT is payable on goods over £15.00. The item itself cost £18.75, so was only £3.75 over the £15.00 limit. With the 20% VAT on his £18.75, (which is £3.75) that would be £22.50 in all. Had the item been sourced in the UK he would of course have had to pay the VAT so no problem with that, but the sting in the tail is the £8.00 Post Office collection fee, bringing the total to £30.50. (Size wise, the item was about half the size and weight of a house brick).

I know that from time to time some forum members import packs of capacitors and resistors from a supplier in Canada, and whenever the topic has cropped up, I think that no one has generally had any charges levied, but that doesn't mean they may not be. £15.00 is quite a low value and if goods costing more than that are needed, it might be advantageous to place more than one order to keep below that ceiling, unless of course the additional postal charges would outweigh the VAT and £8.00 Post Office collection fee..

To some extent it's the luck of the draw, but its as well to be aware of the charges in advance so you can make an informed decision.

Hope that's helpful.
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