Customs

[Derek Creasy]

Has anyone ordered anything from Italy since Brexit ? I have ordered and paid for a Delta 3 front grille from a firm SERVEX who have just asked for my NHS Number for their Customs form . This sounds very strange to me and I can find nothing on the web about it . Has anyone heard of this ?

[lancialulu]

It is probably to send it ex Vat if over £135 (incl delivery)..... You will be pleasantly annoyed to also be charged Vat and possibly small duty on it entering UK and a courier handling charge...

[Lightweight_911]

.

I was also asked for my NI number by a seller (requested by the courier) last week which, as above, I anticipated was likely to lead to VAT & handling charges on arrival.

I didn't give my info but instead requested them to send it via Poste Italiane as I have received several parcels from Italy recently without incurring any fees (famous last words !) ...

.

[simonandjuliet]

I am having very significant issues with the post-Brexit charges. Many of you know that I live in France and regularly have things going back and forth.

I buy/sell/give parts and since Brexit it is a nightmare, because you do not know what to expect

2 examples:

1/ a set of 1600 carbs (value 500 euros) - received by the purchaser who 2 weeks later was asked for £113 - £10 import duty, £90 VAT and £13 handling charge

non of this was indicated by Fedex beforehand

2/ several Fulvia parts given to a friend (FOC) but with insurance value of 200 euros in case of loss - £51 was asked

again non of it identified beforehand

As a test, I am waiting for some Aprilia parts that I have had remade in the UK to arrive in France to see how the French will deal with it - they cost £150 ex vat so let's see

I do not know if I can buy/sell/remanufacture in the UK anymore because of unknown costs, you can't anticipate what to expect. At the very least anybody in the UK getting/buying anything from me will have to pay between 25 & 30% more ......

Apparently customs will not accept "nil" value so you can't do this either

The UK loses out !

ps this isn't a political statement, just the new reality

[rikardo]

I was also asked for a means of identification for a parcel coming from Spain and initially I was likewise asked for either my Passport or National Insurance number. I declined and substituted my VAT number, because I have one. If you have one, I would suggest this is probably the best identification to use for such purposes, its of much less use to anyone for fraudulent purposes. Maybe your Driving License number? But I would put that in the same susceptible group as Passport and NI numbers. This particular shipment is scheduled to be delivered on 8 February, some 25 days after it was dispatched.
Deliveries from pretty much everywhere outside the UK are now much slower post-brexit.
Another delivery, also from Spain, is currently stuck somewhere "In Transit" and has been since 19 January, it was dispatched on the same date as above (15 Jan). This, I am told (by UPS), is due to covid-19 affecting staffing levels and brexit.
Likewise, a shipment from Germany (by GLS) has been stuck somewhere "In Transit" since 29 January.
 

With regard to VAT, here is a reasonably good explanation of who needs to do/pay what/to whom that I found on tinterweb....
https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2020/12/uk-vat-changes-sale-of-goods-to-customers/

[simonpen]

I have today received a B2C order from EE in Italy which has not incurred any excess charges ( so far). The items cost < £135 although with Italian Vat and postage the order was above that figure.   

[peteracs]

Hi Simon

Who was it shipped with?

Peter

[simonandjuliet]

FedEx both times

[simonpen]

GLS

[peteracs]

FedEx both times

Hi Simon

I fail to see how there is import duty on carbs, presumably made in Europe?

Peter

[peteracs]

GLS

Hi Simon

So the items were delivered via Royal Mail in the UK I assume?

Peter

[simonandjuliet]

Re import duties, it is clearly stated on the FedEx invoice and separate from the vat

[Kevinlincs]

There was an article on import duties in MCN last week which gave a reasonable explanation, although why £135 was deemed the change point as far as charges go, maybe they came up with E150 and reckoned £135 was about the same..
But what I've not been able to ascertain, does it only apply to new goods or any goods?
You'd have thought 2nd hand parts wouldn't incur VAT style charges?
The MCN article referred to country of origin of manufacture and gave examples of clothing being bought in UK against the same item bought from EU, but that was all new stuff.
Are the likes of eBay charging for used items from EU countries?

[Scott]

As I've interpreted it, and as other folk have said, there is this EUR150 (£135) limit which if items fall below then VAT is charged at source.
For items above this threshold then what should happen is that the seller removes VAT at source and it gets charged at import, plus any customs duties and admin charges from the courier to deal with this. That all gets charged to the buyer when delivery accepted.

The bit that is unclear to me is buying from an overseas private (non tax registered) seller. Let me take ebay as an example where prices from sellers are market rate and therefore kind of include 'tax' even if not implicit. So take a scenario pre-Brexit where item X is £320 from a 'professional' seller and £300 from an 'amateur' seller. All things being equal the lower priced item goes in the basket.
Post-brexit what happens? The amateur seller isn't going to accept £240 to account for 20% VAT that gets charged up the road on importing to the UK.
Now take my actual situation where I only have a single private seller available on ebay for something I need. Effectively the £300 'tax implicit' item would become something like £385 once VAT, customs duty and handling charges are applied. Is this just the way it is or have I missed something here?

[Charles Frodsham]

Importing spare parts from the EU for our Lancias, either directly or indirectly, I would argue, is fairly fundamental to our hobby.

I think you are quite correct about VAT on items from private sellers, from what I can glean. Quite a blow really!

One possible way around this is if the components for your classic car are original and over 30 years old, like your car, then there is a Preferential Tariff of 5%. This comes under collectors items, and for reference, the HMRC commodity code is 97050301.

The other is under a UK-EU Preference Tariff, with 0% VAT. This is available for many items. Ref 8703409090 is for motor vehicle parts.

Whether, or how, these are invoked in practice I am not sure......anyone out there with import/export experience?

There are other requirements such as a “proof of origin” document from the vendor. How this is dealt with in reality on importation is anyone’s guess!!

At the moment, I would put these solutions in the “too difficult” category.

If it is as you describe, then buying from anyone in the EU who isn’t VAT registered will be at a disadvantage. The “little” guys always lose!