A dreaded VAT question...

No VAT on any books in the UK, new or old

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

Never has been either, but vendors CAN charge VAT on post & packing.

Peter

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Not CAN , but VAT would HAVE to be charged on any amount charged for packing and delivery. Steve the grease

also tell you that postage from the UK to NZ is a LOT more expensive than the other way round. steve the grease

Not, as in this case, if the goods were going overseas. Tom is in New Zealand.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Engine pages for preservation info:

No,not quite true, packing yes, postage NO. This is one of my biggest argument with suppliers I buy an item for £2.00 and they post it for say 50p They charge me 2.50 plus VAT and I refuse to pay I say I'll pay £ 2.00 plus vat plus 50 as there is no vat on stamps.

Sorry just a point of contention with me as if I ask the VAT man for a refund they ignore it, they are claiming money by false pretenses.

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

Postage as charged by the PO to the buyer of the stamps is exempt but when that is passed onto some one else as a charge it is not.

Of course they do 'cause (I think) you are wrong. The pesky HMC&E site "has a problem" ATM so can't check what the current status is but my rather ancient VAT 700 guide says this:

"If, when you supply goods, you make an arrangement to deliver or post them for an extra charge, the extra charge is for the supply of a seperate delivery service. If you send goods by post, the charge made to you by the Post Office is exempt, but your charge to your customer is taxable even if it is exactly equal to the charge made to you by the Post Office. Your supply of delivery services is standard-rated if the goods are sent to an address in the UK and zero-rated if they are sent elsewhere."

The point is the people you buy from are providing a "delivery service" and thus are correct in charging standard rate VAT on the whole Postage & Packing fee.

There is a get out if the terms of the agreement requires delivery to be made in which case the supply of goods and delivery charge (if quoted seperately) are a single supply of delivered goods but they then both carry the same VAT rate. This really only has any effect for zero-rated goods as the delivery charge then also becomes zero-rated.