READ SUMMARY IN POST 986 - Amazon.uk Post-Brexit

ussjtrunks

The 10€ is the sticking point if it needs to be paid it makes good more expensive than here unless you order in bulk, I’m guessing there’s no customs over 150€

Also how do customs know the value of goods I haven’t seen a U.K. package this year with the value written on it

harmless

ussjtrunks wrote: »

The 10€ is the sticking point if it needs to be paid it makes good more expensive than here unless you order in bulk, I’m guessing there’s no customs over 150€

I'm fine with the €10 admin fee couriers will charge when ordering from a company that is not registered for Irish VAT. I do worry that this price could increase due to greed and you usually do not get much choice in selecting which courier is used.

It will also be interesting to see which UK businesses will consider filling out the VAT 407 form too much of a burden.

ussjtrunks

I don’t understand why it’s a flat 10€ a % of the order makes more sense, 10€ on a 23€ order is mad

Sleeper12

SmallTeapot wrote:

I wonder if Parcel motel and Parcel Wizard will return?

Parcel motel has only suspended its service. They couldn't continue to offer the service not kn what the Brexit deal might have been.

harmless

ussjtrunks wrote: »

I don’t understand why it’s a flat 10€ a % of the order makes more sense, 10€ on a 23€ order is mad

It's a flat fee because it requires the same amount of work from the courier company regardless of item cost.
They would argue that charging less than €10 would make the service unviable.

Would it be possible for Revenue to create a system where you can pay VAT yourself in advance by submitting an invoice?

Darc19

harmless wrote: »

It's a flat fee because it requires the same amount of work from the courier company regardless of item cost.
They would argue that charging less than €10 would make the service unviable.

Would it be possible for Revenue to create a system where you can pay VAT yourself in advance by submitting an invoice?

Yes you can, it will take you about 2 hours paperwork / form filling etc, payment before release and then presentation of the release firm to the courier.

Or pay €10 and they'll use their staff, knowledge and IT systems.

ussjtrunks

Darc19 wrote: »

Yes you can, it will take you about 2 hours paperwork / form filling etc, payment before release and then presentation of the release firm to the courier.

Or pay €10 and they'll use their staff, knowledge and IT systems.

Why is it such an involved system how is it handled by an post, the same way?

harmless

ussjtrunks wrote: »

Why is it such an involved system how is it handled by an post, the same way?

My guess would be that it is probably necessary to make fraud difficult.

harmless

Darc19 wrote: »

Yes you can, it will take you about 2 hours paperwork / form filling etc, payment before release and then presentation of the release firm to the courier.

Or pay €10 and they'll use their staff, knowledge and IT systems.

Yes I remember this from when I imported an item from the US years ago.


I was hoping for an online system where you could simply upload an invoice and receive a bill for VAT.
At this point it could leave the companies warehouse in the UK with documents showing that VAT has been paid in Ireland.
Perhaps it's not possible to implement or there is not enough interest in it.

I've ordered goods from Scotland a few weeks ago (not through amazon), they haven't arrived yet as they are built to order in the factory. If they come in after December 2020 i'll likely get charged VAT again on them. I have already paid UK VAT.

harmless

Deleted User wrote: »

I've ordered goods from Scotland a few weeks ago (not through amazon), they haven't arrived yet as they are built to order in the factory. If they come in after December 2020 i'll likely get charged VAT again on them. I have already paid UK VAT.

I'd contact the company if I were you and see if it's too late for them to submit a VAT exemption form and issue a refund. It may not be possible but there is only one way to find out.
The distance selling act still applies in the UK as far as I know. So you can still cancel and get a full refund.

wes

dubrov wrote: »

For all the slagging the uk government guy in the Irish press, it sounds like they got exactly the deal they'd always wanted. I e. Freedom of movement of goods (in all but name) without freedom of movement of people.

I'd say a few other EU countries might try and get the same deal

They actually wanted services included, which was never available.

Free movement of goods was always an option e.g. Turkey is in the customs union. UK as a whole could have stayed in the customs union as well, but chose a free trade deal instead.

touts

dubrov wrote: »

For all the slagging the uk government guy in the Irish press, it sounds like they got exactly the deal they'd always wanted. I e. Freedom of movement of goods (in all but name) without freedom of movement of people.

I'd say a few other EU countries might try and get the same deal

A problem that may arise in early January is some of those countries may try to block the deal. It has to be ratified by each of the 27 member states so there will be a few looking for sweeties for them that aren't there. They will hold out for a chunk of any Brexit fund and if they don't get it they will not hesitate to throw Ireland under the bus again. Poland and Hungary might do it just to stick two fingers up at the EU who they are not on the best of terms with at the moment.

We're not done with this yet.

dubrov

Amazon already charge Irish VAT for goods delivered to ROI. I can't see anything changing

seligehgit

Comprehensive explanation of all the changes outlined here


https://www.moneyguideireland.com/buying-from-amazon-uk-after-brexit.html

scamalert

seligehgit wrote: »

Comprehensive explanation of all the changes outlined here


https://www.moneyguideireland.com/buying-from-amazon-uk-after-brexit.html

thats prob most detailed document out there at the moment, as entire deal seems to be 2000pages long and prob wont be released any time soon.


So takeaway from that is that any sellers in UK will have to fill out vat+ pay any handling fees for items to move freely here, if any of those two steps arent made correctly- then one could be stung for customs, or handling fees here, as i understand.

TheDriver

scamalert wrote: »

thats prob most detailed document out there at the moment, as entire deal seems to be 2000pages long and prob wont be released any time soon.


So takeaway from that is that any sellers in UK will have to fill out vat+ pay any handling fees for items to move freely here, if any of those two steps arent made correctly- then one could be stung for customs, or handling fees here, as i understand.

You'd be slow to buy off smaller retailers now. Amazon and fashion retailers will have their affairs in order but others, I wouldn't be so sure. Couple this with the forwarding address crowds eg parcel motel, how do you get it shipped to UK but pay IRL vat without a long explanation

Zardoz

It looks like forwarding services like Parcel Motel and Parcel Wizard wont be able to operate with the extra logistics and paperwork.

tv3tg4

If I buy something from amazon UK.

Will. Vat be still charged in the UK.

Up to what limits will customs be charged?

Caranica

tv3tg4 wrote: »

If I buy something from amazon UK.

Will. Vat be still charged in the UK.

Up to what limits will customs be charged?

Amazon have charged Irish VAT on items dispatching to Ireland for a very long time.

harmless

tv3tg4 wrote: »

If I buy something from amazon UK.

Will. Vat be still charged in the UK.

Up to what limits will customs be charged?

https://www.moneyguideireland.com/buying-from-amazon-uk-after-brexit.html

tobeme2020

What about buying amazon uk products and getting them shipped to the North with an irish card. Will this still be available to do without incurring any added taxes.

harmless

tobeme2020 wrote: »

What about buying amazon uk products and getting them shipped to the North with an irish card. Will this still be available to do without incurring any added taxes.

Good question, that may not be possible because many UK residents own credit and debit cards from all over the world. It's the address that decides which VAT you pay with Amazon.

Services like parcel motel and addresspal may no longer be viable.

ixoy

So this €10 fee is only required when a good has not had its Irish VAT rate charged yet leaving the courier to sort out the paperwork? Otherwise there's no €10 handling fee?

CelticRambler

ussjtrunks wrote: »

Also how do customs know the value of goods I haven’t seen a U.K. package this year with the value written on it

This is the real sticking point, when it comes to ordering from smaller UK retailers: the value will be on the customs declaration document stuck to the outside of the package. You haven't seen it this year because the UK was still in the transitional phase. From Jan 1st, every package coming in from the UK - regardless of value - has to have a description of the contents and their value available for inspection. This is what will kill Parcel Motel and the like - your GB seller won't do this for a GB address, and probably not for a RoI address unless you ask them, so your parcel will sit in customs forever in the pile marked "waiting for paperwork".

Don't know why it's taking people so long to get their heads round the fact that ordering from the UK is now effectively the same as ordering from China. But AliExpress is usually about a quarter of the price of Amazon for the same stuff.

wozniattack

CelticRambler wrote: »

This is the real sticking point, when it comes to ordering from smaller UK retailers: the value will be on the customs declaration document stuck to the outside of the package. You haven't seen it this year because the UK was still in the transitional phase. From Jan 1st, every package coming in from the UK - regardless of value - has to have a description of the contents and their value available for inspection. This is what will kill Parcel Motel and the like - your GB seller won't do this for a GB address, and probably not for a RoI address unless you ask them, so your parcel will sit in customs forever in the pile marked "waiting for paperwork".

Don't know why it's taking people so long to get their heads round the fact that ordering from the UK is now effectively the same as ordering from China. But AliExpress is usually about a quarter of the price of Amazon for the same stuff.

Another is I deal with Saxoprint in the UK ( do not ship to Ireland ), and use AddressPal to get stuff.

Yet, their packaging printing is from a plant in Germany.

So I paid in early December for my orders, they were blocked with the recent 48H border closing, and are being reshipped soon.

I doubt they'll have customs values on them.

So in all, I pay British Vat, for a British company, they get stuff made in Germany and shipped to my AddressPal in the UK, and I pay them to get to Ireland.

Since NONE of the Saxoprint websites will ship to Ireland.

So, I'm curious, and worried on if I'll get slapped with an Irish VAT charge, and possible customs since it's from a UK company.

Yet it's also coming from Germany.... So confused as to what will happen.

harmless

Some companies just have no interest in accommodating Irish customers. Not much you can do if that is the case.

Quackster

ussjtrunks wrote: »

I don’t understand why it’s a flat 10€ a % of the order makes more sense, 10€ on a 23€ order is mad

It's not quite a flat charge.

An Post charge 1% of the value of the consignment or €10, whichever is the higher.

Presumably €10 is the minimum that covers their costs.

wozniattack

harmless wrote: »

Some companies just have no interest in accommodating Irish customers. Not much you can do if that is the case.

It really is a mess; the Spanish Saxoprint, will only ship to Spain, and only allow orders from Spanish Addressed billing details as well.

None of their websites are linked, so all my printing templates I made and have saved with Saxoprint UK, aren't available on the others either. I'd need to re-import and redo the template designs.

Worst case, I might use the German Saxoprint, and suck up the extra costs using mailboxde.com; but also lose my awesome contacts in UK one that speak English.

Such a shame how some EU companies just refuse to accommodate Ireland.

scamalert

CelticRambler wrote: »

This is the real sticking point, when it comes to ordering from smaller UK retailers: the value will be on the customs declaration document stuck to the outside of the package. You haven't seen it this year because the UK was still in the transitional phase. From Jan 1st, every package coming in from the UK - regardless of value - has to have a description of the contents and their value available for inspection. This is what will kill Parcel Motel and the like - your GB seller won't do this for a GB address, and probably not for a RoI address unless you ask them, so your parcel will sit in customs forever in the pile marked "waiting for paperwork".

Don't know why it's taking people so long to get their heads round the fact that ordering from the UK is now effectively the same as ordering from China. But AliExpress is usually about a quarter of the price of Amazon for the same stuff.

thats quite interesting because few times that ive sold stuff to UK, nothing major few quid, they would give me label to fill out as in contents, and return address- makes sense in case it bounces back, and this way was pretty much anywhere to EU for last 5-6 years as far as i can remember you have to list items, so nothing new really, as only difference in UKs case now seems they would need to also declare value on package, but then theres a catch that customs will still inspect packages for few who try to dodge any extra costs, and because of that cost requirement to be displayed, issues will be same as getting anything outside of EU as there wont be days turnaround once it lands and gets put aside that will make it not really even worth bothering for most smaller retailers to even hassle with registering to pay irish vat etc, as its so small market here.