New Import Duty/VAT Thread. Read Post #1 for Rules

stehilton94

Hi, I ordered an item from Morphe Brushes a good while ago. Paid $38 for the item + tax and another $28.58 in shipping and handling. It was not said who was delivering the item or how it would be delivered but this is what I was charged. Paid it, item was eventually delivered, nothing was said for about 2-3 months. They I got a letter from FedEx saying I owed them €26.77 for Import Duty and Vat. This makes no sense to me. The item has already had Tax paid which was included in the price of the item the $38, the Item plus postage costs less than €150 so there is no customs duty and also FedEx decided to pay Customs without telling me and I never agreed to them paying it, I also never had any idea FedEx were the deliverers of the item so there was no agreement to any terms and conditions between myself and FedEx, the deliver of the item also never said anything about import duty and tax. Can there be double Tax on an item? Considering I paid the American Tax how can Ireland Tax me again? Do I have to FedEx considering I never agreed to them paying customs on the item? When I rang them about it they got very angry with the fact I said I already paid Tax and suggested Morphe themselves did not declare tax was paid. They said once the item was received into the "UK" which is funny considering I am from the Rep. of Ireland, I was liable for Tax. Should I pay or do I actually have a decent case here?

whiterebel

stehilton94 wrote: »

Hi, I ordered an item from Morphe Brushes a good while ago. Paid $38 for the item + tax and another $28.58 in shipping and handling. It was not said who was delivering the item or how it would be delivered but this is what I was charged. Paid it, item was eventually delivered, nothing was said for about 2-3 months. They I got a letter from FedEx saying I owed them €26.77 for Import Duty and Vat. This makes no sense to me. The item has already had Tax paid which was included in the price of the item the $38, the Item plus postage costs less than €150 so there is no customs duty and also FedEx decided to pay Customs without telling me and I never agreed to them paying it, I also never had any idea FedEx were the deliverers of the item so there was no agreement to any terms and conditions between myself and FedEx, the deliver of the item also never said anything about import duty and tax. Can there be double Tax on an item? Considering I paid the American Tax how can Ireland Tax me again? Do I have to FedEx considering I never agreed to them paying customs on the item? When I rang them about it they got very angry with the fact I said I already paid Tax and suggested Morphe themselves did not declare tax was paid. They said once the item was received into the "UK" which is funny considering I am from the Rep. of Ireland, I was liable for Tax. Should I pay or do I actually have a decent case here?

Sales tax in the USA has nothing to do with VAT in Ireland/EU. Yes, you have to pay VAT, unless the Shipper has included the Irish VAT. amazon and some other sites do this, but then you would have paid it in advance.
If you are going to import from outside the EU you should make yourself familiar with your liabilities for any import charges that occur. Basically unless it is very low value and shipped by post, you will be paying VAT/Duty on the value plus the freight charge. Please see the first post in the thread for further information.

Suckit

You should contact the company that you purchased the item from and let them know about it.
It is a mistake. If you paid taxes and shipping on their site, then nobody should be contacting you for any more.

stehilton94

whiterebel wrote: »

Sales tax in the USA has nothing to do with VAT in Ireland/EU. Yes, you have to pay VAT, unless the Shipper has included the Irish VAT. amazon and some other sites do this, but then you would have paid it in advance.
If you are going to import from outside the EU you should make yourself familiar with your liabilities for any import charges that occur. Basically unless it is very low value and shipped by post, you will be paying VAT/Duty on the value plus the freight charge. Please see the first post in the thread for further information.

Ok, but why did FedEx not say anything to me about this when they delivered the item? They waited 2-3 months and I never once agreed to them paying my Customs charge? They also charged my €11 in tax and €15 for simply telling me about it which is silly considering I never once agreed to them paying it. The item was tiny, talking the size of a letter and Morphe charged my $26 in shipping so when I asked them about that they said it included customs ?

Suckit

stehilton94 wrote: »

Ok, but why did FedEx not say anything to me about this when they delivered the item? They waited 2-3 months and I never once agreed to them paying my Customs charge? They also charged my €11 in tax and €15 for simply telling me about it which is silly considering I never once agreed to them paying it. The item was tiny, talking the size of a letter and Morphe charged my $26 in shipping so when I asked them about that they said it included customs ?

Are you sure the VAT was paid on the website?
All of the other issues are normal. If buying online from outside EU, whoever carried it in for you will pay the charges for you and charge you for doing so.

If you paid Irish VAT with the item at checkout, then it is most probably a mistake that is easily rectified by contacting the seller.

AsianIrish

Hello- I want to know the duty rate on leather and synthetic leather goods such as MMA gears. Can anyone please help?

I tried revenue site but I think they mads it very difficult to find the right terrif.

Thank you.

cuhullainn

Importing from China a electronic toy ( educational electronic robotic toy that can be assembled and disassembled) for a total value of Euro 75 which includes a postal charge of 10 Euro (through a well known courier).
I just received from the courier a custom duties, VAT and handling charge of Euro 46!!
Am I missing something???

Regards

ED E

cuhullainn wrote: »

Importing from China a electronic toy ( educational electronic robotic toy that can be assembled and disassembled) for a total value of Euro 75 which includes a postal charge of 10 Euro (through a well known courier).
I just received from the courier a custom duties, VAT and handling charge of Euro 46!!
Am I missing something???

Regards

They dont believe your invoice so have picked their own value.

ohnonotgmail

cuhullainn wrote: »

Importing from China a electronic toy ( educational electronic robotic toy that can be assembled and disassembled) for a total value of Euro 75 which includes a postal charge of 10 Euro (through a well known courier).
I just received from the courier a custom duties, VAT and handling charge of Euro 46!!
Am I missing something???

Regards

did the sender complete an invoice with the item cost and shipping cost separate?

rubadub

cuhullainn wrote: »

I just received from the courier a custom duties, VAT and handling charge of Euro 46!!
Am I missing something???

They commonly will say the postage is ~€90 an then charge VAT on that. Let us know who the courier is. There will be an admin fee too.

whiterebel

cuhullainn wrote: »

Importing from China a electronic toy ( educational electronic robotic toy that can be assembled and disassembled) for a total value of Euro 75 which includes a postal charge of 10 Euro (through a well known courier).
I just received from the courier a custom duties, VAT and handling charge of Euro 46!!
Am I missing something???

Regards

If you go on to the courier website, and use their system to get a rate to ship from China, you'll find its nowhere near €10. If they had sent it via China Post for that amount it would be believed, but if you got it via an express courier such as DHL/UPS/FedEX/TNT Revenue would have a hard time believing it. They may not have put the shipping on the invoice, which means the courier will use their rates published on their website for the same size shipment.

Suckit

cuhullainn wrote: »

Importing from China a electronic toy ( educational electronic robotic toy that can be assembled and disassembled) for a total value of Euro 75 which includes a postal charge of 10 Euro (through a well known courier).
I just received from the courier a custom duties, VAT and handling charge of Euro 46!!
Am I missing something???

Regards

Is the shipping value marked clearly on the packaging?
If not some couriers will use their own system and could put the shipping much higher. They may have valued the shipping at a higher charge and calculated the VAT on that.
If the shipping is not marked correctly on the packaging, some will do that.

For example, DHL use a Volumetric Weight Calculator - http://www.dhl.ie/en/tools/volumetric_weight_express.html

Find out if that is what has happened and ask them to correct it (it may require you emailing the seller to get the correct invoice). Either way, i would contact the courier and query it.

cuhullainn

I have an answer from the courier! They say that since the vendor did not state the fee of the transport (€11), as per EU/Revenue rules, they (The courier at destination) must enter an estimation based on the weight of the parcel, in this case €90, added to the invoice cost of the goods (€48) then apply 23% VAT...adding €14 handling cost...there we are!!
I am now contacting the vendor about this...we will see ...

whiterebel

cuhullainn wrote: »

I have an answer from the courier! They say that since the vendor did not state the fee of the transport (€11), as per EU/Revenue rules, they (The courier at destination) must enter an estimation based on the weight of the parcel, in this case €90, added to the invoice cost of the goods (€48) then apply 23% VAT...adding €14 handling cost...there we are!!
I am now contacting the vendor about this...we will see ...

How long did shipping take to get to Ireland?

rubadub

rubadub wrote: »

They commonly will say the postage is ~€90

cuhullainn wrote: »

(The courier at destination) must enter an estimation based on the weight of the parcel, in this case €90

wow, I was spot on, really is sickening. Please name and shame these scumbags, not sure why you are keeping it secret and not helping out others, who could possibly avoid companies who use this courier.

I 100% refuse to believe, especially in this day & age with barcodes and reference numbers etc, that the couriers cannot find out what has actually been paid.

If you go on to the courier website, and use their system to get a rate to ship from China, you'll find its nowhere near €10.

Indeed, and it will be absolutely nowhere near what was actually paid.

It is utterly ludicrous to suggest going onto the site and seeing what they would charge for a private person to send stuff, as though it is going to be the same rate the company has paid, but this is what the couriers pretend to do, it makes sense as they can often profit more by doing so, even if just a bit, but it can also tip it over into the area where VAT is collectible and so they can slap on their high admin fees and profit highly.

It is blatantly obvious that business sellers in China get a massive discount, unless you are stupid enough to believe they are all paying the same and doing some sort of below cost selling practice. The couriers obviously know this, revenue certainly know this, the dogs on the street know this.

whiterebel

rubadub wrote: »

wow, I was spot on, really is sickening. Please name and shame these scumbags, not sure why you are keeping it secret and not helping out others, who could possibly avoid companies who use this courier.

I 100% refuse to believe, especially in this day & age with barcodes and reference numbers etc, that the couriers cannot find out what has actually been paid.


Indeed, and it will be absolutely nowhere near what was actually paid.

It is utterly ludicrous to suggest going onto the site and seeing what they would charge for a private person to send stuff, as though it is going to be the same rate the company has paid, but this is what the couriers pretend to do, it makes sense as they can often profit more by doing so, even if just a bit, but it can also tip it over into the area where VAT is collectible and so they can slap on their high admin fees and profit highly.

It is blatantly obvious that business sellers in China get a massive discount, unless you are stupid enough to believe they are all paying the same and doing some sort of below cost selling practice. The couriers obviously know this, revenue certainly know this, the dogs on the street know this.

No matter big a shipper, none of the couriers could offer an express service from China for €11. Pick up in a van, ship to the airport, load on probably 3 planes, pass through at least 2 hubs before it hits Ireland. Then trunk from airport to depot, sort, and load on a delivery van. For €11......yeah, right. And pay out Vat and duty on your behalf, do a customs entry and sort out the paperwork for €12.50. Oh no, hang on they are jacking up the freight cost so they can make sure of their €12.50. Companies that turn over billions, are going to be screwing people for €12.50? And for that €12.50 you want them to start chasing shipments around the world to see what the actual shipping cost is?
Couriers would actually prefer not to have to customs clear anything, and just do straightforward deliveries, it would save them employing people to do it. I've asked on numerous occaisions to point out exactly where the scam is, and have not got an answer yet. Anything extra is Vat/Duty, it doesn’t go to the courier, it goes to Revenue.
It’s fairly simple, if people are importing from outside the EU, use the postal service which is usually about 5-10% of the cost of a courier, that way they don’t get a big shock for duty. DHL actually have it on their website that they will charge book rate less 30% for undeclared freight on invoices. Conveniently ignored when it’s pointed out though.

Suckit

IIRC, Shipping from China is subsidised by the UN and Chinese Government. It allows the seller to offer free shipping or cheap fast shipping.

AFAIK China had been looking at ending it at the end of this year, but i have not heard anything in a while and we are at the end of the year.
The pressure coming from Belgium (VAT and Customs avoidance/fraud) is growing also. I would have thought that it would be to most couriers advantage to double check the invoice, contact the seller on the invoice or something. (Maybe by overcharging they are compensating?)
Both the seller (obviously) and the courier already know that the shipment/air container came from China, so there is a very high chance that it was subsidised.
By asking the end consumer to pay unexpected extortionate amounts is bad enough, but to also expect them to do the running around to have to sort it all out when the information should be on both of their systems already, is ridiculous. The end consumer is becoming more savvy with how to work out the end cost expected at their door, and are beginning to realise more when the courier is not even attempting to find out if there was an illegible or missing charge on the form. But would rather use their magic calculator.
I get that the courier is milking it for all it is worth, but i would have thought it was worth more to agree with the individual customer too. Maybe not.

The larger shipping containers are obviously worth a fortune and the more important to them. But it will be interesting to see how their pricing structure affects all customers when/if the UN and Chinese Government stop subsidising them.
They will most likely lose all of the individual consumers, many small businesses and possibly a few others. Unless it all moves to India or the new mini China/'smart city' in South Africa.

whiterebel

Suckit wrote: »

IIRC, Shipping from China is subsidised by the UN and Chinese Government. It allows the seller to offer free shipping or cheap fast shipping.

AFAIK China had been looking at ending it at the end of this year, but i have not heard anything in a while and we are at the end of the year.
The pressure coming from Belgium (VAT and Customs avoidance/fraud) is growing also. I would have thought that it would be to most couriers advantage to double check the invoice, contact the seller on the invoice or something. (Maybe by overcharging they are compensating?)
Both the seller (obviously) and the courier already know that the shipment/air container came from China, so there is a very high chance that it was subsidised.
By asking the end consumer to pay unexpected extortionate amounts is bad enough, but to also expect them to do the running around to have to sort it all out when the information should be on both of their systems already, is ridiculous. The end consumer is becoming more savvy with how to work out the end cost expected at their door, and are beginning to realise more when the courier is not even attempting to find out if there was an illegible or missing charge on the form. But would rather use their magic calculator.
I get that the courier is milking it for all it is worth, but i would have thought it was worth more to agree with the individual customer too. Maybe not.

The larger shipping containers are obviously worth a fortune and the more important to them. But it will be interesting to see how their pricing structure affects all customers when/if the UN and Chinese Government stop subsidising them.
They will most likely lose all of the individual consumers, many small businesses and possibly a few others. Unless it all moves to India or the new mini China/'smart city' in South Africa.

Trying to deal with customers half way around the world in different time zones, to sort out what the exporter should have done in the first place, and they DO know what they should be doing. I can just imagine the uproar when the couriers put their prices up to cover all the extra work, storage etc.
The couriers guard their own agreements with customers, even within their own organisation. If Ireland saw what China could use as a subsidised rate, they would want to be able to use the same, not knowing about subsidies in other countries.
People seem to believe that everyone should be helping the individual buyer to import from outside the EU, keeping their import costs down. The opposite is the case.The EU want people to buy from the retailers who pay Vat/duty on import to get money in to local economies.
For example, if Apple or Samsung ship thousands of phones in a container which takes a month, they pay cents in shipping per unit. If they ship it by air, which takes a couple of days, the cost go up massively per unit. If they want the quick shipping into Europe, Revenue want Vat/Duty paid on the expensive shipping too.
People need to understand that these costs are put there to discourage people from importing. There is a constant battle going on between the EU to stop the flood of cheap Chinese imports, and the Chinese government desperate to keep their export business going, even to the extent of offering ludicrous subsidies.
I’m still waiting for someone to explain how the courier Is milking or scamming it. Please don’t say by getting €12.50 for a couple of shipments, for companies that turn over billions.

rubadub

whiterebel wrote: »

No matter big a shipper, none of the couriers could offer an express service from China for €11.

I was not saying they could. I also do not believe they can do it for free either. The price of shipping is obviously built into the price. My point is the the companies are definitely not paying the same shipping as private people, as they would obviously be making a loss on many of their sales.

Last time I was contacted by revenue was for a android box. Listed as about €130 and "free" shipping.

I can see I emailed revenue saying

"The total cost of the item, including postage, was $165.33 (which was €126.30)

I attach proof of purchase.

Will I know in advance the exact amount I have to pay?

Regards"

The PDF I sent had shipping listed as $1.70, and then discounted off with a -$1.70 figure.

Revenue never questioned this, and I have had several similar ones in the past. The people in revenue are not complete morons they realise it's built into the price.

ohnonotgmail

rubadub wrote: »

I was not saying they could. I also do not believe they can do it for free either. The price of shipping is obviously built into the price. My point is the the companies are definitely not paying the same shipping as private people, as they would obviously be making a loss on many of their sales.

Last time I was contacted by revenue was for a android box. Listed as about €130 and "free" shipping.

I can see I emailed revenue saying

"The total cost of the item, including postage, was $165.33 (which was €126.30)

I attach proof of purchase.

Will I know in advance the exact amount I have to pay?

Regards"

The PDF I sent had shipping listed as $1.70, and then discounted off with a -$1.70 figure.

Revenue never questioned this, and I have had several similar ones in the past. The people in revenue are not complete morons they realise it's built into the price.

you sent the revenue information that listed the shipping separately. the seller in cuhullainns case did not do this. this is the problem. the problem is the seller not including a proper invoice.

whiterebel

rubadub wrote: »

I was not saying they could. I also do not believe they can do it for free either. The price of shipping is obviously built into the price. My point is the the companies are definitely not paying the same shipping as private people, as they would obviously be making a loss on many of their sales.

Last time I was contacted by revenue was for a android box. Listed as about €130 and "free" shipping.

I can see I emailed revenue saying

"The total cost of the item, including postage, was $165.33 (which was €126.30)

I attach proof of purchase.

Will I know in advance the exact amount I have to pay?

Regards"

The PDF I sent had shipping listed as $1.70, and then discounted off with a -$1.70 figure.

Revenue never questioned this, and I have had several similar ones in the past. The people in revenue are not complete morons they realise it's built into the price.

As far as I remember, and its a long time since I did a customs entry, that if the invoice shows that freight is paid i.e. CIF, DDU, DDP, they don't need to show any freight cost on the invoice, and it would do away with this problem completely. You would wonder why the Chinese exporters don't do this.
I can understand Revenue allowing free shipping by Post as it is subsidised, but not for couriers.

Suckit

whiterebel wrote: »

Trying to deal with customers half way around the world in different time zones, to sort out what the exporter should have done in the first place, and they DO know what they should be doing. I can just imagine the uproar when the couriers put their prices up to cover all the extra work, storage etc.

I am not disagreeing with you at all.
My point should have been that the issues raised here could have been nipped in the bud before shipping. They must go through about three different checks before they are put in a crate to ship, and somebody should notice if the price of shipping is marked or not.
But as i had attended a 21st last night and drank a lot of fruit and sugar drinks mixed with God knows what kind of concoction - i went off on a tangent.

whiterebel wrote: »

People seem to believe that everyone should be helping the individual buyer to import from outside the EU, keeping their import costs down. The opposite is the case.The EU want people to buy from the retailers who pay Vat/duty on import to get money in to local economies.
People need to understand that these costs are put there to discourage people from importing. There is a constant battle going on between the EU to stop the flood of cheap Chinese imports, and the Chinese government desperate to keep their export business going, even to the extent of offering ludicrous subsidies.

Again, i would not disagree with any of that. Only comment i would make is that the issue is mainly between the courier and seller. The EU do not want individuals flooding, but the couriers seem to have no problem in taking the extra business.

whiterebel wrote: »

I’m still waiting for someone to explain how the courier Is milking or scamming it. Please don’t say by getting €12.50 for a couple of shipments, for companies that turn over billions.

Not sure where that is coming from.
But... if i was to hazard a very hungover guess, i would be playing Devils advocate and say something like
It is probably more than a couple of shipments and that is per day.
The €12.50/€15 handling is not the issue, it is the huge shipping charge. Shipping has already been paid for, and then there is a €90 claim with VAT on it at the other end.

Again... I do not actually think that. I did not see the scam/milking it post(s) and if i seemed to agree with them, i do not.
It does get frustrating some times when it seems the left arm does not know what the right arm is doing, but it is not as straightforward as that.
I am going off on a tangent again. I'll stop while i am still drunk (i think) with a sore head.

ohnonotgmail

Suckit wrote: »

Not sure where that is coming from.
But... if i was to hazard a very hungover guess, i would be playing Devils advocate and say something like
It is probably more than a couple of shipments and that is per day.
The €12.50/€15 handling is not the issue, it is the huge shipping charge. Shipping has already been paid for, and then there is a €90 claim with VAT on it at the other end.

the buyer is not asked to pay an additional €90. they are asked to pay the VAT on the €90. what claim are you referring to? all the courier receives is the handling fee.

Suckit

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the buyer is not asked to pay an additional €90. they are asked to pay the VAT on the €90. what claim are you referring to? all the courier receives is the handling fee.

I could have worded it better, but was in a bad way earlier, and it wasn't what i think. I was guessing it was where the milking/scamming was coming from or what they talking about (i did not see those posts though).
The claim i mentioned was that the courier claims that it is €90 shipping, so they collect VAT on it.
Anyway. It is not something i think, i was just guessing.

My only real point is that they could or should put in a better system or upgrade the existing one to check that there are no discrepancies on the invoice regarding shipping when it gets to the consumer.

Anybody would think that it would have been easier for me to just say that last night.. :pac:

ohnonotgmail

Suckit wrote: »

I could have worded it better, but was in a bad way earlier, and it wasn't what i think. I was guessing it was where the milking/scamming was coming from or what they talking about (i did not see those posts though).
The claim i mentioned was that the courier claims that it is €90 shipping, so they collect VAT on it.
Anyway. It is not something i think, i was just guessing.

the vat doesnt go the courier, it goes to the government. i can never understand the scam thing.

Suckit wrote: »

My only real point is that they could or should put in a better system or upgrade the existing one to check that there are no discrepancies on the invoice regarding shipping when it gets to the consumer.

Anybody would think that it would have been easier for me to just say that last night..

but the invoice is the responsibility of the shipper. it is not the couriers responsibility to ensure the sender has included the correct invoice. to do that they would have to inspect every invoice, assuming it is attached to the outside of the parcel. and if there is a problem do they send it back to the shipper and then pick it up again? more time for them with no gain for them.

whiterebel

Initially the couriers only really dealt with business to business, so all documentation would be in order. With the huge amount of online shopping, I think the couriers are finding it difficult to keep up with the pace of change at times. I think UPS are making the first forays into changing their mindset, buying the likes of PM and the like.

Suckit

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the vat doesnt go the courier, it goes to the government. i can never understand the scam thing.

Yes but i did not say the scam thing. I know the VAT goes to the Government. I was guessing what they were talking about.

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

but the invoice is the responsibility of the shipper. it is not the couriers responsibility to ensure the sender has included the correct invoice. to do that they would have to inspect every invoice, assuming it is attached to the outside of the parcel. and if there is a problem do they send it back to the shipper and then pick it up again? more time for them with no gain for them.

Not the item invoice just the courier/shipping invoice. All i am saying is that i do not think it would be too difficult for the courier to find out if the shipping has been paid for and how much. A scanner or similar i would think would be enough.
It is not as if these mistakes do not waste time and money either.

For example, a parcel arrives in Dublin, gets scanned and checked for value and goes to customs. It surely would not be that difficult to check the shipping invoice. I am guessing for example that DHL would have a record of the tracked parcel. If it shows BLANK where there should be a value, instead of using the volumetric calculator and adding (e.g.) €90 to the overall value, they could check if the seller paid shipping at the front end by sending an automatic message to them instead of the back and forth with the end customer. (If the seller had an account).
I have not ironed out the kinks yet :pac:

I am done. The most taxing amount from this, is on my head! Never drinking again

whiterebel

Suckit wrote: »

Yes but i did not say the scam thing. I know the VAT goes to the Government. I was guessing what they were talking about.


Not the item invoice just the courier/shipping invoice. All i am saying is that i do not think it would be too difficult for the courier to find out if the shipping has been paid for and how much. A scanner or similar i would think would be enough.
It is not as if these mistakes do not waste time and money either.

For example, a parcel arrives in Dublin, gets scanned and checked for value and goes to customs. It surely would not be that difficult to check the shipping invoice. I am guessing for example that DHL would have a record of the tracked parcel. If it shows BLANK where there should be a value, instead of using the volumetric calculator and adding (e.g.) €90 to the overall value, they could check if the seller paid shipping at the front end by sending an automatic message to them instead of the back and forth with the end customer. (If the seller had an account).
I have not ironed out the kinks yet :pac:

I am done. The most taxing amount from this, is on my head! Never drinking again

From my post earlier:
"The couriers guard their own agreements with customers, even within their own organisation. If Ireland saw what China could use as a subsidised rate, they would want to be able to use the same, not knowing about subsidies in other countries."

Invoices for shipping go to the exporter if they are paying the freight, they don't accompany the goods.The exporter needs to get their Incoterms correct and a credible shipping amount depending on the service.

gnilsiaIRE

I have a question about Amazon. I suspect it may be asked here before but I cannot see it. When you purchase something online the cost of the item and postage totalled is charged @23%VAT in Ireland. My query is more about Amazon than the law.

Amazon offer free postage for orders over a certain amount or just free if you are prime. At checkout I am charged for VAT on the item plus postage and then refunded the cost of postage but I have already paid the VAT on it so technically it is not free is It? I imagine they are correct but I just wanted to know if there is anyone more educated in tax systems that could advise if they are correct or Not?

Apologies again if this is asked and answered if it has please just post a link to the original answer and I shall walk away slowly

Thanks
Eric

ohnonotgmail

you dont have that right. if you select free shipping the entire cost of the shipping including the vat element is removed from the order total.