Anyone bought tools from the EU recently?

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JobandKnock

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If so, did you buy via eBay? I wondered if the prices quoted from Sosnish and German tool dealers included UK VAT and what customs and clearance charges were like. I don't want to buy a "bargain" £150 tool (a clear £20 cheaper than UK suppliers) only to find that I'll get charged import duty, clearance charges and 20% VAT on top which will cost me more. This is a multiple purchase, so the savings might be quite respectable
 
New rules state that Ebay, amazon etc have to include the import taxes and VAT for things they sell at the point of sale so there shouldn't be any nasty surprises. I have bought a few bits from the EU and China in the last few months and these charges have been itemised on the final bill, even Aliexpress charged me VAT.
 
Something to note since i have just made an order. Ebay shows the price with VAT etc included, Aliexpress do not so expect to add 20% to the price you see on Aliexpress but on Ebay the price you see should be the price you pay.
 
New rules state that Ebay, amazon etc have to include the import taxes and VAT for things they sell at the point of sale so there shouldn't be any nasty surprises. I have bought a few bits from the EU and China in the last few months and these charges have been itemised on the final bill, even Aliexpress charged me VAT.

I think that's for consignments of less than £135.

Above that, it's as before, you pay VAT and duties to Royal Mail etc. Obviously the seller should be charging ex VAT prices but I don't think many do.

Some couriers have apparently also added their own "processing/admin/paperwork fees", which lead to stories of people having to pay hundreds of pounds. It's this that has put me off buying from the EU.
 
I think that's for consignments of less than £135.

Above that, it's as before, you pay VAT and duties to Royal Mail etc. Obviously the seller should be charging ex VAT prices but I don't think many do.

Some couriers have apparently also added their own "processing/admin/paperwork fees", which lead to stories of people having to pay hundreds of pounds. It's this that has put me off buying from the EU.

No the companies have to charge VAT on behalf of the UK government now.
 
I think there has been a bit of confusion here, as a shop doing buisness all over europe and the world we have to be fully up to date with the rules and regulations.
At present the situation is thus-
UK customers buying from a shop outside of the UK are not required to pay the VAT charged in the country of origin ( In our shop, as soon as you register from an address from outside the EU you see the prices without the 19% German VAT included) In the case of the UK , you may buy goods up to £135 (about €150) without paying any duty, orders above that amount are liable for the UK 20% VAT and this is collected on behalf of the UK government by the Royal Mail, UPS etc.

Things within the EU are changing from 1.July, from that date companies have to charge the VAT rate of the country wher the goods are beinng sent, That means that an Irish customer will now have to pay the 23% Irish VAT with us ard we are required to pay it to the Irish goverment. A burocratic nightmare for a shop like us with 27 different countries to deal with. The reason is that the huge companies like Amazon, based in Luxemburg, are draining the tax revenue from the state governments, everything that is bought by a german on Amazon and not in a German shop loses the german government the 19%. VAT As these shops have got bigger and bigger this has become a problem.

SInce Brexit many companies like Aliexpress have set up UK offices to get around the duty problem and they are naturally liable to pay VAT to the UK government. But the UK has no jurastiction to get companies in other countries to pay any duty to them.

I hope this clears the problem, buying from the EU through a reputable company using a established shipping coumpany shouldn't cause any concern.
 
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