Buying goods from the EU... now that we know what 'Leave' meant

[RichardS]

Until you try to take any boat gear you have already bought in the UK over to your boat in Croatia. Then (unless you fail to declare it to evade tax) you will likely have to pay VAT for a second time.
Remind us what value of goods you can bring with you tax free when you fly from UK to Croatia from 1 Jan?

Crikey .... forget the VAT on the bit of boat gear in the boot when I cross the border. It's the VAT on my £50k car which is going to clobber me every time.

Richard

 

[sailor211]

Until you try to take any boat gear you have already bought in the UK over to your boat in Croatia. Then (unless you fail to declare it to evade tax) you will likely have to pay VAT for a second time.
Remind us what value of goods you can bring with you tax free when you fly from UK to Croatia from 1 Jan?

You could of course buy it ex vat and export the items.

 

[dunedin]

You could of course buy it ex vat and export the items.

Not sure how easy that might be to do in practice, other than getting sent directly by the supplier (I expect places like the German mail order chandleries may gain some custom). But reports of getting goods imported and VAT paid on deliveries to marinas overseas suggest might not be terribly easy.

 

[Graham376]

Infor here for allowances on goods taken into EU - Rules for carrying alcohol, tobacco, cash in the EU and leaving and entering the EU - Your Europe (europa.eu)

 

[dgadee]

Infor here for allowances on goods taken into EU - Rules for carrying alcohol, tobacco, cash in the EU and leaving and entering the EU - Your Europe (europa.eu)

But what about NI? Where are we in terms of fags and booze?

 

[Yellow Ballad]

Well I've ordered something from SVB24 and paid for it on the 9/12 so I'm hoping I shouldn't have to pay VAT on it when it turns up in the new year, not sure arguing with the delivery company will be of any use. I also want to order more bits but will have to ask them about zero rate export.

What a farce.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Well I've ordered something from SVB24 and paid for it on the 9/12 so I'm hoping I shouldn't have to pay VAT on it when it turns up in the new year, not sure arguing with the delivery company will be of any use. I also want to order more bits but will have to ask them about zero rate export.

What a farce.

Is there anything they sell that UK suppliers don't? Is it cheaper to buy stuff from them for UK purchasers given that Dutch VAT is higher than UK's, delivery is likely to be more & currency has to be changed to Euros?

 

[Yellow Ballad]

Cabin Marine lights, the UK distributor doesn't carry any stock (what sort of distributor doesn't carry stock of a product) and SVB said an ETA of a week (which turns out to be wrong) as they only had one of the lights I wanted in stock. I've decided to splurge on another £300 worth of lights. If SVB won't zero rate VAT it then I'll have to use the UK distributor or see if I can import then direct fron Cabin.

Again what a farce.

 

[dgadee]

Is there anything they sell that UK suppliers don't? Is it cheaper to buy stuff from them for UK purchasers given that Dutch VAT is higher than UK's, delivery is likely to be more & currency has to be changed to Euros?

It can cost as much - or more - to get larger items shipped from England to NI than it does to get them shipped from the EU. I actually bought an anchor which came from Spain to NI at less than it would have cost to get from an online English firm.

Edit: I'm looking for a water tank. £20 delivery from Germany and £24 from Warwickshire. The latter is one of the cheaper options - another firm quoted £50.

 

[Kelpie]

I've bought quite a lot of stuff from Germany, on eBay. They've charged very reasonable delivery whilst sellers in England often simply refuse to post to the Highlands & Islands.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I've bought quite a lot of stuff from Germany, on eBay. They've charged very reasonable delivery whilst sellers in England often simply refuse to post to the Highlands & Islands.

 

[ronsurf]

You may need to get an EORI number. A couple of motorcycle parts suppliers in Italy will not ship anything without an EORI number after Jan 1st.

Whether this means that goods can no longer be shipped to individuals is unclear. A UK shop/dealer/importer will be able to import it and take care of the additional Brexit paperwork, but of course it will cost more, and it has to be worth their time to import it.

While there is the much advertised tariff-free arrangement, there is import paperwork to deal with, and the costs and delays that entails.

 

[st599]

Government just published new VAT rules for imports.

* Low value consignment relief abolished
* Consignment over £135 VAT and fees collected from consumer
* Consignment under £135 vendor must register with HMRC, collect the VAT and pass it on.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Government just published new VAT rules for imports.

* Low value consignment relief abolished
* Consignment over £135 VAT and fees collected from consumer
* Consignment under £135 vendor must register with HMRC, collect the VAT and pass it on.

My understanding is that the EU is also ending this relief in July 2021 & is settling up a similar replacement scheme with a threshold value of €150.

I wonder whether it's is somewhere in the small print of the Brexit agreement that the UK follows closely what the EU is doing on this matter.

 

[sailor211]

You may need to get an EORI number. A couple of motorcycle parts suppliers in Italy will not ship anything without an EORI number after Jan 1st.

Whether this means that goods can no longer be shipped to individuals is unclear. A UK shop/dealer/importer will be able to import it and take care of the additional Brexit paperwork, but of course it will cost more, and it has to be worth their time to import it.

While there is the much advertised tariff-free arrangement, there is import paperwork to deal with, and the costs and delays that entails.

We find that the paperwork required to import to the UK from outside the EU is not difficult and can be streamlined. Not sure why import from EU to UK should be difficult.

 

[Kelpie]

We find that the paperwork required to import to the UK from outside the EU is not difficult and can be streamlined. Not sure why import from EU to UK should be difficult.

For what sort of value of goods? E.g. around £60?
Entirely selfishly, I want to duplicate the solar panel I bought from a German supplier last year. I know other 100w panels are available but I want to match the specs exactly.

 

[Lightwave395]

I've previously had a few bits delivered from SVB24 directly to my marina in Brittany, seem to work out OK, I guess I can continue doing that

 

[st599]

I suppose the main question will be whether suppliers will bother to set up a UK VAT account with HMRC and update their systems to generate the required paperwork and electronic return per consignment, or whether they just choose not to bother and only deal in consignments greater than £135.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Entirely selfishly, I want to duplicate the solar panel I bought from a German supplier last year. I know other 100w panels are available but I want to match the specs exactly.

That's exactly why I bought another pair of Sunpower panels from Germany before the barriers went up.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Government just published new VAT rules for imports.

* Low value consignment relief abolished
* Consignment over £135 VAT and fees collected from consumer
* Consignment under £135 vendor must register with HMRC, collect the VAT and pass it on.

Does that mean that a German (say) supplier selling anything costing under £135 to a UK customer has to register with HMRC?