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

Just want to check first... Am I right that there are no pickup locations in Ireland? I find I can have parcels sent to pickup locations in the UK and France, but not here. Just seems bizarre.

Oh, just seen this post-snip - looks like I've missed out on the details of a lucrative smuggling opportunity ;). But seriously though, are there really no pickup locations in Ireland?

I don't just mean Amazon lockers, but shops: I was staying in France a while ago and got something delivered to a small health food shop over the road. They were very efficient and had a huge number of parcels from Amazon and other companies. They must make a lot of money out of parcel deliveries - a good business model.

It depends on the item, but Amazon not delivering here isn't a measure of legality. I recently ordered toasted sandwich bags which, for some reason, Amazon won't deliver here. I send them to a relative in NI and collected them there the next time I visited. It's not illegal, nor avoidance of taxes, to take sandwich bags from NI to ROI.

You can still walk in to any store in NI and purchase them though, without customs issues. We live along the border, it's an everyday occurrence.

There are lots and lots of items that the likes of Amazon and its third party sellers simply wont ship to Ireland. Perhaps the delivery costs is prohibitive but in most cases that Im aware of, what can be bought in the UK whether online or in person can be delivered into this country without customs/revenue checks. There is no physical border between NI and ROI and under EU law (and Brexit arrangements) the programme for free movement of people and goods on this island is still very much alive.

There is no law AFAIK against ordering goods for delivery within the UK and then bringing those same goods into ROI.

Apologies if this is off topic but this point needs to be clarified.

I always order stuff like lithium batteries when I'm in the UK and bring them back on the ferry with me.

So you're telling me that I am breaking the law by ordering coffee from Amazon, having it delivered to a pick up point in Tyrone and then collecting it and bringing it across the border into Donegal?

Except in the example there would be no VAT or import duties involved so no one would care.

And just for clarity if I buy the same coffee in a store in Tyrone and bring it to Donegal am I still breaking the law?

VAT treatment of food and drink supplied by wholesalers and retailers 

2. What products are taxable at the zero rate? The zero rate of VAT applies to the supply of most foodstuffs, such as:  most breads  butter, cheese, eggs, milk  baby food  cereals  condiments  flour  fruit (fresh, canned, dried and drained)  herbs  meat  pasta  pastes, sauces, soup, spices, sugar  preparations and extracts derived from meat, yeast or eggs  tea and coffee in non-drinkable form and  vegetables (fresh and frozen).

The "Not for EU" labelling system is specifically limited to fresh food coming from GB that is intended for sale by retailers in the NI market.

You're still perfectly within your rights to drive up into the North, buy fresh food there, and drive back into the Republic with it if it's for personal consumption.