Love my new Class 108 !

Draconus said the following on 30/01/2007 10:48:

I believe that's actually an offence as the vendor is collecting VAT that he doesn't then have to pay to HMG due to it being an export.

I suppose whether or not you do anything depends on how bloody-minded you are :-)

Hi Paul, Yeah, I have a query into them now about that, it might just have been a simple oversight when they rang up the invoice. Will wait and see if I get a reply.

Cheers Mal Oz

If they quoted you a price and made no reference to VAT at all, I believe they are within their rights to sell you the item at a price which "co-incidentally" is the same as the usual "net price + VAT" price.

It all depends how the item was advertised and invoiced, in other words.

I don't believe they have to if not registered, some advertisers (presumably those *not* registered) offer free postage instead.

I got an invoice, part of which says..

Qty # Product # Price #

--- # ------- # ----- # 1 # B32900 # £67.0 #

================================== TOTAL GOODS VALUE: £57.02

Assumed the £57.02 was ex VAT. Shipping was on top at 14 quid (to Australia, which is about what I expected based on previous shipments from UK).

Anyway will see what they say.

Cheers Mal Oz

Draconus said the following on 30/01/2007 14:18:

I'm confused now - did you pay £57.02 + £14.00, or £67.00 + £14.00? If the latter, then the unknown vendor who might be in West Sussex (ahem!!!) are tax-dodging!

Kevin Martin said the following on 30/01/2007 13:56:

I'm pretty confident that they're VAT registered. They publish a VAT number at the bottom of their website, if it's who google suggests they are ;-)

paid total of 81 quid 67 + 14 for shipping.

...then if what you say is correct, then I can only assume at this point that a simple clerical error has occured.

I will chase it up - I mean $25 is three pints over here !!

Cheers Mal Oz

Might we ask the OP how he paid, were the account is, was it as we would assume a non EU account? What I'm getting at is, it matters no a jot were the goods are being shipped but who is buying them IYSWIM.

Draconus said the following on 30/01/2007 14:36:

Then in that case the seller has officially invoiced you £57 + VAT, which means that in his books he will be expected to pay that VAT to the taxman. Because you are outside the EU though, he should have declared that sale as being exported outside the EU, and not charged you VAT. That's the law - no ifs or buts. It may well be a clerical error, but they have a legal obligation to correct it.

In the above, I'm speaking as a person occasionally responsible for shipping manufactured goods outside the EU, so I have a reasonable idea of what is required.

A small trader can decide to not deduct VAT and use it to pay for postage instead, but only if they are not VAT registered.

So what should happen when I come over form the US and shop at a local British store? Should I show them my passport and not pay VAT, or get a form or something? Rob

No.

Pick up a leaflet at the customs desk at the airport.

There is some special paperwork the store needs to provide in order for you to claim the VAT back when leaving the country.

Don't let the store persuade you that you just need the VAT receipt. They're lying to you because they want your business and they don't think they'll see you again.

The only time I actually managed to get the right paperwork, I had made the mistake of putting the items in my checked luggage and the customs couldn't inspect the goods to confirm they were leaving the country. This was at Manchester in the 1990s. I was somewhat annoyed because the leaflet hadn't made that clear.

Of course things could have changed since then.

Rob Kemp said the following on 30/01/2007 16:54:

Not exactly - you have to pay the VAT at the store. I'm not sure of the exact procedure, but you claim it back when you leave the country by getting a form, or something. I think a VAT receipt ought to do it, but I don't really know. I've only ever done it from within the UK exporting, not (effectively) importing to the USA from the UK - there's a difference, even if the goods go in the same direction!

"Paul Boyd" wrote

Not according to my understanding. Since retail price maintenance was abolished, a retailer has been free to charge whatever he sees fit for any item, and that does not exclude items being exported. He would simply claim that he had chosen to charge the full price.

I'm not saying that is either ethical or fair, but I cannot see how his actions can be construed to be illegal.

John.

"Rob Kemp" wrote

If goods are shipped directly to export then no VAT is payable.

If you buy when visiting the UK then VAT is payable but is reclaimable (from the retailer) if you use the Retail Export Scheme. The latter requires a form to be completed at the time of purchase, which then has to be stamped by HM Customs & Excise at your point (port or airport) of departure. The completed form has then to be returned to the retailer direct who should refund the VAT paid (less any administration fee).

John.

Handy guidance available at

On 30/01/2007 18:08, John Turner said,

In this case, though, Mal has an invoice showing the goods value excluding VAT, then a price of £67.00. He paid the £67 + postage, so if the seller, who I'll arbitrarily call "G", has invoiced the total VAT-inclusive price, when it goes through his books it'll show as a VAT sale, so he will be expected to pay that VAT to C&E.

I understand what you're saying though - it depends really on exactly how "G"'s books are kept, and whether or not they declared it as an export sale.

Most on-line retailers who commonly deal with overseas orders will tell you up front whether they deduct VAT. Some charge postage at cost; others add a fixed (sometimes excessive) charge for overseas orders.

The value of goods shown on the customs sticker represents the replacement cost to the vendor, and is usually less than the retail price.

I've ordered kits from small businesses who are not VAT registered, and who told me when I ordered that they were unable to deduct VAT.

General advice - get the information in writing before placing your order.

You own country's customs may charge import duty and/or sales taxes.

That's really going to be a useful URL in 6 months time (if not sooner), especially when the same ID gets re-used for another redirect - perhaps to some content that one probably doesn't want.

IMO, use the full URL or don't bother, please remember that not everyone is an idiot who can't copy and paste a line wrapped URL...