Legalities on starting a business !

rabbit assassin

Hey guys. Ive a great idea for starting up a business selling sports equipment. I am just wondering do you need an import license to buy bulk online? and if so how do I go about getting one and is it expensive? Also if I am just selling the equipment online from my home do I need to do any other legal requirements like register a business etc?

TylerIE

rabbit assassin wrote: »

Hey guys. Ive a great idea for starting up a business selling sports equipment. I am just wondering do you need an import license to buy bulk online? and if so how do I go about getting one and is it expensive? Also if I am just selling the equipment online from my home do I need to do any other legal requirements like register a business etc?

Import "License" not needed unless the items are regulated by law.

If they are coming from outside the EU you will be obliged to pay import duties + customs. These would usually need to be paid at the point of entry port. You will also need to pay Vat on your imports (some exceptions).

As regards selling at home it doesnt make a difference in terms of your obligation to register for income tax. You are obliged to register for income tax regardless of your level of sales.

If selling from home on any scale you may also be obligated to register your premises for Business Rates (a type of council tax levied on business premises). You may also need (not a legal obligation but for your own sake) to notify your house insurance that you are running a part time business from home and holding stock there. These two issues are often ignored, but could present problems if anything were to happen down the line.


If your sales of goods exeed €75,000 you must also register for VAT.

ssbob

TylerIE wrote: »

As regards selling at home it doesnt make a difference in terms of your obligation to register for income tax. You are obliged to register for income tax regardless of your level of sales.

This is not true, you only need to register for income tax if you expect your sales to exceed €3k if you already have another job. I would advise you to speak to an accountant.

TylerIE

ssbob wrote: »

This is not true, you only need to register for income tax if you expect your sales to exceed €3k if you already have another job. I would advise you to speak to an accountant.

I should have mentioned the above limited exemption. Based on the OP planning to import goods and enquiring re licensing etc I would imagine that its pretty likely they are planning for sales to have passed the threshold (I wasnt sure of its exact limit but knew it was small), hence why I didnt bother pursuing it!

beller10

hi,

if your importing sporting goods that are already in ireland like nike adidas etc you might have a problem with customs as you are not the agent. im not sure on the exact law but maybe somebody might be able help you on this.

good luck.