Importing into UK - VAT Question

Toplink

Hi Folks,

The answer to this might be obvious to some but not to me :-)

I am based in Ireland and I currently dont have a VAT number.

I want to import goods from China into the UK. This goods will then be distributed to Ireland and the UK through amazon.co.uk.

Obvious there is a VAT element that has to be accounted for here... my questions is this. Do I pay VAT to her majesty or to the Irish revenue?

I have similar confusion/questions about import duty.

Thanks in advance

jimmii

You don't pay anyone if you aren't VAT registered you don't charge VAT but you can't claim it on expenses either. So if there is VAT charged when you bring the stuff in from China or other expenses you may incur like packaging etc then you can't claim that back. What sort of turnover are you forecasting? There are thresholds you can't exceed without registering for VAT. Import Duty will be charged to you by whoever is bringing it in if its via Courier they will invoice you for it (and you will pay VAT on their fee as well there is VAT everywhere!) of if it comes in by An Post they will either contact you to let you know how much it is or just turn up at your door expecting you to pay! Been a while since I brought anything in with them that was over the limit so not sure how An Post operate it now really but have had both happen before!

Toplink

jimmii wrote: »

You don't pay anyone if you aren't VAT registered you don't charge VAT but you can't claim it on expenses either. So if there is VAT charged when you bring the stuff in from China or other expenses you may incur like packaging etc then you can't claim that back. What sort of turnover are you forecasting? There are thresholds you can't exceed without registering for VAT. Import Duty will be charged to you by whoever is bringing it in if its via Courier they will invoice you for it (and you will pay VAT on their fee as well there is VAT everywhere!) of if it comes in by An Post they will either contact you to let you know how much it is or just turn up at your door expecting you to pay! Been a while since I brought anything in with them that was over the limit so not sure how An Post operate it now really but have had both happen before!

Thanks Jimmii,

Year 1 I would say my sales would be under 30K but I couldn't be sure so I think its in my interest to register for VAT long term.

So going back to my original question and my confusion, if I did register for VAT would it be an Irish VAT number or an English VAT number? Technically the VAT would be on goods imported into the UK and in turn sold through Amazon.co.uk.

jimmii

Toplink wrote: »

Thanks Jimmii,

Year 1 I would say my sales would be under 30K but I couldn't be sure so I think its in my interest to register for VAT long term.

So going back to my original question and my confusion, if I did register for VAT would it be an Irish VAT number or an English VAT number? Technically the VAT would be on goods imported into the UK and in turn sold through Amazon.co.uk.

It would depend on turnover again there is a threshold for how much you can sell in the UK without registering for VAT while being based here so it seems likely that you will need to register in both in the long term. When things really get going you should have a chat with an accountant who is familiar with companies whose main source of income is the UK it should be pretty straight forward for them.

Toplink

jimmii wrote: »

It would depend on turnover again there is a threshold for how much you can sell in the UK without registering for VAT while being based here so it seems likely that you will need to register in both in the long term. When things really get going you should have a chat with an accountant who is familiar with companies whose main source of income is the UK it should be pretty straight forward for them.

Thanks a million.

I am going to see if I can get things off the ground first and if I gain some momentum I will sound out the accountants view on things.

In the short term I wont be able to claim back the VAT from the manufacturer in China but on the flip side I wont have to account for VAT on my product price which should allow me to be more competitive for now.

jimmii

Toplink wrote: »

Thanks a million.

I am going to see if I can get things off the ground first and if I gain some momentum I will sound out the accountants view on things.

In the short term I wont be able to claim back the VAT from the manufacturer in China but on the flip side I wont have to account for VAT on my product price which should allow me to be more competitive for now.

VAT is only a European thing really so you don't need to worry about that from the Chinese end just when it arrives here Revenue will charge you VAT/Duty. Your price ends up around the same for example say you want to double your cost price on your item that costs you €1+VAT if you are VAT registered you charge €2+VAT to give you €2.46 to double your money if you aren't VAT registered that €1 item costs you €1.23 so to double your money you are still charging €2.46.