Amazon and double VAT deductions ??

rock22

I have just purchased an item( camera lens) from Amazon ( entered amazon.ie but brought to amazon.co.uk).

The invoice gives the following information (rounded to the nearest pound/euro).

Unit price £250.67 + vat 23% = total £308.32 . Shipping is £7.49 total £315.81

But on the summary to me they add Import fees deposit £80.21

I have no idea why I should be charged this import fee deposit. As I understand it, the item is purchased from Amazon in Luxembourg ( at least the invoice gives sold by as Amazon EU S.à r.l. 38 avenue John F. Kennedy L-1855 Luxembourg VAT # IE9990705T.) And VAT is paid so what could this Import fee be for.

I have phoned Amazon and spoke to a customer service agent. She assured me that the import fees would be refunded in 90 days. (and sent an email with this lone "Import fee will be automatically refunded within 90 days. I hope this helps. We hope to see you again soon." )

I wonder can anyone shed any light on this?

Have I been charged VAT twice. i.e. is the import fee deposit for Irish VAT?

I am inclined to return the lens as I don't want to pay £80/€100 extra and I imagine that I will not be able to return or get a charge back after 90 days.

And will Amazon refund these fees ? And if so, why are they charging them in the first place?

Cyrus

can you link to the item? normally they remove UK vat and charge irish

rock22

Item here, camera lens

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-M-ZUIKO-Digital-ED-75-300/dp/B00B7WMVSO/ref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa?crid=34LDFF73FP8GM&keywords=olympus%2B75-300mm%2Bf4.8-6.7%2Bii&qid=1700842064&sprefix=olympus%2B75-3%2Caps%2C60&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058324258/amazon-and-double-vat-deductions

You bought from the UK site so there will be extra taxes. If you buy from an EU site you will only pay Irish VAT, but postage is always applied to the EU sites so you are better off using a site like camelcamelcamel or keepa to see which option is cheaper.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121413053#Comment_121413053

its £369, when i add to my card it goes to £308 + £96.33 import fees deposit. so more expensive but assume there are customs as well as vat.

rock22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121413339#Comment_121413339

I don't really know. But they are charging UK vat already so presumably that should have been deducted.

Customer service in Amazon are terrible. Basically, telling me the computer is saying £59 VAT and £80 import fees. The only option i was given was to send it back , at my expense , for a refund. And if i send the post receipts they will consider paying those.

Clearly not a good idea to use Amazon.ie anymore.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121416510#Comment_121416510

If you go to Amazon.co.uk and have it delivered to Ireland the uk vat comes off

rock22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121416537#Comment_121416537

That is what has always happened in the past. But not for this order, for some reason. I pointed out to the customer service rep that UK vat should have been deleted. But they say the computer is always right. It seems the only option I have is to cancel and return the item. I have had four calls to customer service and I don't think I could stomach another one.

The last rep said that if it is wrong it will be refunded on 180 days. But by then I will not be able to return the item

wench

Because your item is over €150, there may be duty to be paid, in addition to VAT.

Its £369, when i add to my card it goes to £308 + £96.33 import fees deposit.

Based on these numbers, the 369 is 308 base + 61 UK VAT at 20%

So switching to Irish VAT at 23% we get 308 + 71 = 379

The extra 25 is a deposit against the duty that may be due.

If there is none, or it is less than that, then they automatically refund it, you don't have to chase them.

F1ngers

They did take off the UK vat when it goes from £369 to £308.

23% Irish vat should bring it to approx. £380(ish)

Unless there is some other charge to import, it's about £16 off.

JVince

As it is unlikely to be made in the UK or EU, duty will apply.

Looks like 3% was applied.

However as there is no duty on camera equipment, this will be refunded.

Btw, €439. + €8 delivery on .de

Ignore the invoice that is double deducting UK vat.

rock22

To help clarify, here is the actual invoice

@F1ngers "They did take off the UK vat when it goes from £369 to £308."

The price before VAT is given , on the invoice as £256.76. But they then charge £59.05 UK Vat

@JVince "Ignore the invoice that is double deducting UK vat."

Unfortunately , it is the invoice total that was deducted from my card.

@wench "The extra 25 is a deposit against the duty that may be due. If there is none, or it is less than that, then they automatically refund it, you don't have to chase them."

I hope you are right.

Unless I am reading the invoice incorrectly, I have paid both UK VAT and a deposit for Irish VAT, and no one at Amazon customer support seems able to offer any explanation of promise of sorting it our other than to return the lens , at my expense, and then try to claim cost of postage back from them.

Thanks to everyone for your replies. It really helps.

pureza

Just use Amazon. De in future,you can set the language to English

Meanwhile send the items back and do a charge back on your card if your refund isn't processed promptly enough for you

I wouldn't touch the UK site with a barge pole since the duty changes

muffler

From looking at the invoice the UK vat has been removed and Irish vat applied. The import fees deposit should be refunded by Amazon.

Was this a third party seller?

rock22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121419966#Comment_121419966

No, seller is given as  Amazon EU S.a.r.L.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121420111#Comment_121420111

Can't understand why you were charged for postage.

Cabaal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121420148#Comment_121420148

By the looks of it they don't have Prime and they opted for faster delivery.

Ordered 20th Nov and due for delivery on the 23rd nov, they've chosen priority delivery which would incur a charge.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121422912#Comment_121422912

I always thought shipping was free for orders over £25 without Prime but as you say priority delivery would incur a charge.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121422971#Comment_121422971

It is if you opt for standard delivery.

OP you're confusing VAT with potential Import Duty. If duty is not applicable you will be refunded.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121419799#Comment_121419799

Just picking up on a point here where you say that £59.05 of UK vat was added. Thats Irish vat at the rate of 23% and not the UK rate of 20%. So the vat rate has been applied correctly.

Cabaal

It's easy to claim customer service in Amazon is awful when you believe you are correct (when you aren't) and that Amazon is wrong,

rock22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121423540#Comment_121423540

I spoke to 4 customer service representatives. None of them could explain what the import fees deposit was for. And none could explain, if it was a deposit, would it be refunded at any time. Only the fifth agent, a manager , was able to explain that some of the deposit might be refunded after 180 days. Incidentally, all the customer service agents said that UK VAT was charged and I accepted that. I never did the calculations.

So with four agents not understanding the charges made to my account for the item , I stand over my statement "Customer service in Amazon are terrible. ."