Ordering goods from UK to EU post-Brexit - VAT to be paid?

[Yngmar]

Beware, DPD has halted deliveries: Firms halt deliveries from UK to EU over Brexit border problems

 

[neil1967]

I have a colleague that deals with imports from the US into Portugal and there are invariably customs clearance problems. Initial indications are that these problems will also be experienced by the UK - only today there was an issue of getting customs clearance for someones' possessions to go back to the UK from Portugal, which was never an issue pre-BREXIT.

 

[De.windhoos]

I bought for 172 GBP from a UK vendor on Dec 23rd to get it shipped to Greece. Got a message from the courier today that I've got to pay 46Eu Customs taxes and duties. meaning VAT and admin costs
pretty pissed off because I bought it before Dec 31 and paid UK VAT as well. ?

 

[Tony Cross]

I bought for 172 GBP from a UK vendor on Dec 23rd to get it shipped to Greece. Got a message from the courier today that I've got to pay 46Eu Customs taxes and duties. meaning VAT and admin costs
pretty pissed off because I bought it before Dec 31 and paid UK VAT as well. ?

I know of others caught in this problem and AFAIK there's no way out. The UK VAT was properly payable at the time of order because then the UK was in the transition period and UK VAT was legally liable. Delivery took place when the UK was a third country and so VAT is payable on import.

 

[Graham376]

I know of others caught in this problem and AFAIK there's no way out. The UK VAT was properly payable at the time of order because then the UK was in the transition period and UK VAT was legally liable. Delivery took place when the UK was a third country and so VAT is payable on import.

Customs duty isn't just the value of goods, carriage and insurance costs are also included so best to have everything boxed together if possible.
Buying goods online coming from a non-European Union country | Taxation and Customs Union (europa.eu)

 

[Bilgediver]

The biggest problem in the short term might be finding chandlers who have set up the correct procedures though I would think those in the south of the UK might be getting up to speed. Just check when buying they can zero rate the invoice for export and make sure they get any documentation needed from you that they require to do this . I would think a detailed text or email confirming price and delivery instructions to an overseas destination would keep their vat man happy but you should check this when ordering . You or your receiving agent pays local VAT and import duty plus possibly a handling charge at destination. It is just the same as we have been doing with other non EU countries .

 

[Alicatt]

It has been said on the Brexit and the Belgian Brits (BABBS) facebook group that a person ordered something from Amazon.de but the item was sourced in the UK by Amazon and the recipient had to pay the duty and vat on it, something they were not expecting having ordered from the German Amazon site.

 

[wwalsh]

The greek tax authority confirms that greek vat is due on imports of goods originating from UK but no other tax is due.
For goods originating outside UK and coming to Greece via UK it is more complicated.
Article in greek. Read with google translate.
Χωρίς δασμούς, μόνο με ΦΠΑ, τα εμπορεύματα καταγωγής Ην. Βασιλείου

 

[grumpygit]

The greek tax authority confirms that greek vat is due on imports of goods originating from UK but no other tax is due.
For goods originating outside UK and coming to Greece via UK it is more complicated.
Article in greek. Read with google translate.
Χωρίς δασμούς, μόνο με ΦΠΑ, τα εμπορεύματα καταγωγής Ην. Βασιλείου

Agree, the complication is as I stated in #6
Be prepared because if you buy from the UK and let's say for example a Chartplotter which is not made in the UK or EU in which this can be open for customs duty and tax.
Of course they have to prove what's in the box but I'm sure they would have a fair idea by scanning and X-raying the package as they do as the norm. Here in Greece the customs are absolute B's for sniffing out contraband.

 

[Tony Cross]

The greek tax authority confirms that greek vat is due on imports of goods originating from UK but no other tax is due.
For goods originating outside UK and coming to Greece via UK it is more complicated.
Article in greek. Read with google translate.
Χωρίς δασμούς, μόνο με ΦΠΑ, τα εμπορεύματα καταγωγής Ην. Βασιλείου

That's the government's position. The problem has always been the courier companies who handle imports from outside the EU. They add on their own handling and storage fees - and they can be large. Whether this will also happen with goods coming in from the UK only time will tell....

 

[Tony Cross]

That's the government's position. The problem has always been the courier companies who handle imports from outside the EU. They add on their own handling and storage fees - and they can be large. Whether this will also happen with goods coming in from the UK only time will tell....

Further to this I can confirm that Greek courier companies are operating the same money-making scam and holding packages from the UK to ransom.

A friend recently took delivery of some craft items she bought online from a UK company she's used for years. The items had a value of about €60 and should have attracted less than €14 in VAT on entering Greece, but the courier company wanted over €100 to deliver it.

Another friend ordered a jigsaw puzzle as a present for his wife. I don't know the exact figures here, but the puzzle was around €15 and he was charged over double that by the Greek courier company for delivery. When he said he didn't want it at that price they told him that he would have to pay to send it back and they'd charge him €25 a day storage fees until it was sent back!

If you must order stuff rom the UK (or from any non-EU country) for delivery to Greece, get it sent by the normal postal service if you can. The Post Office here will charge you the VAT (and any import tax or duty) of course, but that's all.

 

[RAI]

One thing that jacks the price of goods imported from outside the EU is that VAT is applied to the whole cost, transport included, not just the item cost.
Then there is the wee problem of the country of origin, should the item not have been made in the UK, it is not tariff free entry into the EU.

 

[wwalsh]

If you send from UK international signed for it arrives with ACS courier not the post office

 

[AndersG]

Does Parcelforce use the post office for deliveries in Greece?

 

[grumpygit]

Does Parcelforce use the post office for deliveries in Greece?

I've used Parcel Monkey a few times pre Brexit, never had a problem as I've had with everything else that has found it's way into inefficient and bureaucratic Greek handlers .
Drop of at the post office and delivered to your address in Greece in 4 days. I see the charges have increased from £33 to £45. This is for package up to 30kg and a circa size of 45 x 45 x 70cm
It would be interesting to see how they operate post Brexit.

 

[AndersG]

I've used Parcel Monkey a few times pre Brexit, never had a problem as I've had with everything else that has found it's way into inefficient and bureaucratic Greek handlers .
Drop of at the post office and delivered to your address in Greece in 4 days. I see the charges have increased from £33 to £45. This is for package up to 30kg and a circa size of 45 x 45 x 70cm
It would be interesting to see how they operate post Brexit.

We've booked Parcelforce via Parcel monkey a few times and its always been cheaper than booking on Parcelforce own website. Been cheaper to send a bag via them than paying for a bag on an airline and you I don't have to drag it to the airport or stand in line at checkin! Always sent it to the yard and its been waiting for us when we get there. Hope it stays like that after brexit!

 

[pandos]

Then there is the wee problem of the country of origin, should the item not have been made in the UK, it is not tariff free entry into the EU.

That's not necessarily the case. I just paid DHL for vat and carriage (e14.50) for them on top of 18.50 sterling to bring a package from uk to Ireland.

In the past the same supplier had free postage to Ireland. Dhl now advertise 2.5% of vat paid or e14.50 minimim...

The package contained electronics, 1 item from Japan, 1 from Taiwan and 1 from UK. No duty was charged.

Each item had a code and you can look this up on the eu tariff site to see the rate. All of mine were 0%.

 

[Yngmar]

Another friend ordered a jigsaw puzzle as a present for his wife. I don't know the exact figures here, but the puzzle was around €15 and he was charged over double that by the Greek courier company for delivery. When he said he didn't want it at that price they told him that he would have to pay to send it back and they'd charge him €25 a day storage fees until it was sent back!

I can't imagine that being enforceable. My understanding is that the transport company only has a contract with the sender, not the recipient, and therefore no way to enforce anything onto the recipient such as ridiculous storage fees.

Of course the sender may get laden with additional fees (or more likely the item being destroyed) and decide it's not worth shipping internationally anymore, which is exactly what I've been seeing on many UK websites.

It's a real shame, as there were so many good mail order businesses in the UK that serviced the boating sector. For many of them replacements can be found (plenty of general chandlery in Germany, France, Holland, etc.), but often at a premium or with translation hassle. Others like Parts4engines are without any counterpart in the EU (at least none I know of). And where will I get my Fabsil now! ?

The courier fees aren't likely to improve either, it's been this way for a long time with orders from outside the EU - I recall ordering some computer bits from the US and being stung by a €70 "tax collection fee" on top of the expected tax & customs charges, and to add insult to injury had to drive out to their warehouse in the boonies and pick my loot up from the worlds grumpiest clerk. ?

 

[Tranona]

It was going this way without the extra agro of Brexit. The EU has never been comfortable with open markets and consumer orientated supply chains. These have flourished in the last few years because of the growth in on line trading which single market rules were not able to control. Perhaps if the small value VAT rules had been brought in when they were proposed (nearly 10 years ago) the on line market could have grown in a more orderly manner. Even now I suspect that in a couple of years' time when the pandemic has calmed down, firms will find a way of working with the system, although many small operators may leave the market because it is no longer viable, so limiting consumer choice.

 

[dslittle]

My personal selfish question.
We travel to our boat in France frequently (or did pre COVID). We often take bits out in our car. It’s probably too early to ask, as I doubt that there are any ‘real life’ experiences yet, but does anyone KNOW what will happen at the border??? Obviously no couriers involved.