Brexit and replacement parts from Germany

[JumbleDuck]

Please, find us the direct to consumer statistics. The only stats I could find on direct to consumer sales through Internet shopping show the USA is far and away the largest country of origin, while China was not even on the list.

Perhaps that's because so many Chinese sellers understate the value of what they are selling?

 

[Chris_Robb]

You won't have to pay German VAT but svb24 will have to collect British VAT from you and be registered with HMRC to pass it on to them. A company that size probably will be, in due course, but might not be set up for it yet.

Cannot VAT and Duty be collected by the courier - that happened in the past with stuff from the states?

Give it time - it will sort itself out soon.....

 

[st599]

Cannot VAT and Duty be collected by the courier - that happened in the past with stuff from the states?

Give it time - it will sort itself out soon.....

No. Under the new UK rules (which are based on the new EU rules which start in July), under £135 the retailer registers with HMRC, collects and then pays HMRC, over £135 the courier collects as previously.

 

[lustyd]

Perhaps that's because so many Chinese sellers understate the value of what they are selling?

As do sellers from around the world, as I said. It's not a Chinese thing, it's a shady seller thing. USA have done this for decades with all kinds of goods.

 

[lustyd]

No. Under the new UK rules (which are based on the new EU rules which start in July), under £135 the retailer registers with HMRC, collects and then pays HMRC, over £135 the courier collects as previously.

What I find interesting is that HMRC have no jurisdiction over the seller so I don't see how things will change unless they plan to intercept millions of small packages at the border and somehow deal with them.

 

[lustyd]

It's horrible when people support their arguments with facts, isn't it?

I didn't see any facts, I saw an offhand statement that facts probably existed. And even then he was talking about completely different statistics (total imports) to the ones under discussion (direct to consumer).

 

[dom]

What I find interesting is that HMRC have no jurisdiction over the seller so I don't see how things will change unless they plan to intercept millions of small packages at the border and somehow deal with them.

It's called a "Trade Agreement"

 

[dom]

As do sellers from around the world, as I said. It's not a Chinese thing, it's a shady seller thing. USA have done this for decades with all kinds of goods.

Do remember that the internet has only been around for two decades!

 

[lustyd]

Do remember that the internet has only been around for two decades!

I was using the web in 1993 and it certainly wasn't new then

 

[lustyd]

It's called a "Trade Agreement"

Oh yes, there's loads of paper about. What I mean is that HMRC have no way to directly force a seller to follow thier rules. The issue before wasn't lack of rules, laws or agreements it was a lack of ability to enforce. Given the volume of parcels arriving at our border on any given Tuesday, what action will they be taking to check whether it's something sent between friends, something sold online, or something else? Will they open each parcel, or will they return a million parcels a day to sender? Or will they ask every government we have a trade agreement with to check parcels on their way out of the country of origin? Laws are useless unless practical.
Many USA shops advertise that they will mark your package as a gift. They stop short of adding a winking smiley

 

[dom]

I was using the web in 1993 and it certainly wasn't new then

We're taking about internet fraud here and once again the data is against you. It tells us that internet commerce only kicked off after 1999:

 

[dom]

Oh yes, there's loads of paper about. What I mean is that HMRC have no way to directly force a seller to follow thier rules. The issue before wasn't lack of rules, laws or agreements it was a lack of ability to enforce. Given the volume of parcels arriving at our border on any given Tuesday, what action will they be taking to check whether it's something sent between friends, something sold online, or something else? Will they open each parcel, or will they return a million parcels a day to sender? Or will they ask every government we have a trade agreement with to check parcels on their way out of the country of origin? Laws are useless unless practical.
Many USA shops advertise that they will mark your package as a gift. They stop short of adding a winking smiley

Once again, enforcement is a matter for the exporting country which is signature to this trade agreement.
The same way as Germany will expect that the UK - and other EU countries - don't turn a blind eye to the 'illegal' selling of hormone-treated beef, classified drugs, firearms, and all sorts of things.

 

[lustyd]

We're taking about internet fraud here and once again the data is against you. It tells us that internet commerce only kicked off after 1999:

Which was decades ago? I have no idea what point you're making? Before we had Internet sales we had catalog sales, which worked in very much the same way. Either way, sellers in the USA have been doing this a long time.

Once again, enforcement is a matter for the exporting country which is signature to this trade agreement.
The same way as Germany will expect that the UK - and other EU countries - don't turn a blind eye to the 'illegal' selling of hormone-treated beef, classified drugs, firearms, and all sorts of things.

So you are suggesting that every government around the world checks every parcel destined for the UK? Good plan Although that will probably mean no more free deliveries with Chinapost to the UK which would suck.

 

[prv]

For what it's worth I've never encountered a US seller offering to falsify customs forms. Quite a few pre-emptively state that they won't. The two places I most recently ordered from had in their FAQs:

"We can't mark international orders as gifts on their customs forms, because that is international mail fraud. We are too delicate and beautiful for jail."

and

"We don't cover custom fees or taxes and will not mark the package as a gift as doing so is illegal. We are not responsible for making sure you have the proper funds for customs fees or taxes and will not mark your package with a lower value or as a gift. Please make sure you have funds set aside for these. We don't offer refunds if the product returns to us."

Pete

 

[prv]

A UK based retailer, like ASAP for instance, will have to collect import VAT for customers in 27 countries (at variable rates) and send it off to their respective tax authorities?

No - under the new EU scheme they can register with the HMRC-equivalent in one country of their choice (presumably based on who has the lowest VAT rate and/or easiest process to deal with) and do all their into-EU VAT reporting and payment with them.

Pete

 

[lustyd]

And that's what I'd expect, but it's not been my experience so far.

 

[dom]

So you are suggesting that every government around the world checks every parcel destined for the UK? Good plan Although that will probably mean no more free deliveries with Chinapost to the UK which would suck.

"Every government" is a red herring, you are talking about the US.

And as prv has kindly evidenced, US Export Administration Regulations are enforced by the US Commerce Department and they cover almost all commercial goods and technologies originating in the US. Violate these laws and at a minimum goods can be returned or seized by either US or foreign customs officials. Vast fines can also be imposed, and willful violations warrant prison sentences.

Do keep digging!

 

[AngusMcDoon]

No - under the new EU scheme they can register with the HMRC-equivalent in one country of their choice (presumably based on who has the lowest VAT rate and/or easiest process to deal with) and do all their into-EU VAT reporting and payment with them.

Does that mean that the country that the foreign vendor registers with keeps that VAT? That would be great news for Luxembourg with its 17% rate (and the richest in the EU so least in need of it), and bad news for Hungary with its 27% rate (and one of the poorest in the EU, most in need of it).

I can see why the EU wants a common VAT rate across member countries. Seems a bit unfair that a rich country like Luxembourg can have a low one. It must make the level playing field across the EU a bit slopey.

 

[lustyd]

"Every government" is a red herring, you are talking about the US.

No, we're talking about the new VAT rules which affect every country in the world sending parcels to the UK.

 

[BabaYaga]

No - under the new EU scheme they can register with the HMRC-equivalent in one country of their choice (presumably based on who has the lowest VAT rate and/or easiest process to deal with) and do all their into-EU VAT reporting and payment with them.

I see. That could probably be Luxembourg or Malta (17 or 18 percent as compared to the 25 percent we pay here).
Presumably the tax money collected on my hypothetical UK online purchase would still end up in Sweden, eventually?