Clarification of £135 Import Rules For Consumers

After much research on the topic I was of the opinion that if I, as a consumer was to import goods from the EU and the value was under £135 then the VAT would be paid to the retailer and that there would be no more to pay on import. I was also under the impression that in this case the value declared on the customs declaration forms would not include the cost of postage so if I bought an item for £130 and the postage was £25 giving a total cost of £155 the UK VAT would still be collected by the EU retailer who should then declare a value of £130 on the customs forms? I was also led to beleive that any company that wants to trade with UK consumers from the EU MUST register for UK VAT and collect the VAT due at point of sale for goods valued at under £135 and that this is mandatory and is not something companies can opt out of by choice? I ask these questions as I recently purchased an item from Slovakia which had a value of £120 but the retailer declared the value including postage which came to a total of £137 which then triggered an unexpected charge from DHL. In the past when I have purchased from the EU and the value has been above £135 the retailer has reduced the price by their countries VAT amount which I then paid on arrival of the goods. This current company that I am dealing with did no such thing so it looks like I am paying double VAT plus collection charges for this item. Can someone clarify if my understanding of the rules regarding consumer imports are correct please?

Hi Laura Curtis,
Customs value of the goods at the time of importation is determined by the value of the goods, postage, packaging, insurance and any duty you owe. You pay VAT when you buy the goods or to the delivery company before you receive them.
If you have to pay VAT to the delivery company, it’s charged on the total package value.
More information on thresholds explained in below link.
Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad
Thank you. 

Hi Laura Curtis There is a duty exemption for any goods whose value is less than £135. It is not specific to imports from the EU. As HMRC Admin has said the VAT is charged on the whole cost of the purchase including postage packaging etc. It may be that the retailer you purchased from has not registered for UK VAT as they should have and therefore not followed the correct procedure and included the UK VAT. That is a separate matter that you could report to the customs fraud line. Each retailer will have its own charging structure so you should always check their specific terms and conditions specifically on customs charges and importantly that they include the UK VAT in their prices. Nor can you assume that you are being charged both the retailers domestic VAT and UK VAT or that the retailer will deduct domestic VAT from the price you see. Some of the overseas retailers may already have different websites for different markets so the domestic VAT will not be included in the price they show. If you think you have been overcharged duty and vat then you can submit a reclaim request to HMRC or raise the issue with the courier who delivered you import. Given the large quantity of imports mistakes can happen. ( I do not work for HMRC so cannot add links)

Can I ask a follow on question regarding this. We purchased two cushions from a UK online retailer. At the point of sale we were charged VAT of £29.38 (yes the cushions were expensive!). We didn’t realise that the company we purchased the items from was going to have the products shipped directly to us from overseas. We have now been asked to pay import taxes and fees of £45.21 from Royal Mail before they will deliver the items. I know goods over the £135 threshold will attract the charges but my question is should the retailer have charged us VAT at the point of sale for the items too? They are a UK VAT registered company based in the UK.

Hi Paul,
You need to raise this issue with the seller, on the import declaration if the buyer is declared as importer and goods are above the threshold of postal imports then customs charges will be applicable as per the tariff.
If the VAT has been paid two times, you can request a repayment.
If the parcel company is Royal mail, you can use below form.
Report incorrect Customs Duty or VAT on items imported by post (BOR286)
Thank you. 
 

Hi Paul As the value of the consignment was over £135 duty and vat will be due.The post office has a duty to collect the taxes. The retailer’s T&Cs should mention who is responsible for duties and taxes. If they suggest that their price is tax inclusive go back to them and ask them to resolve things. It is possible that the charges are being requested from you rather than the retailer as intended.

Thank you for the replies. Just to clarify, we purchased two cushions from a UK based online retailer that does state that deliveries from overseas may incur customs duties. We got a VAT receipt from the retailer that shows the following: subtotal for x2 cushions = £168.12, discount -£16.82, VAT (20%) £29.38, shipping £24.95, with a total cost of £176.25. This was paid. We then received a bill from Royal Mail for customs duties (including admin fee) of £45.21. The retailer’s website does state in their T’s & C’s that the customer may be liable for payment of taxes for items imported. I completely understand why Royal Mail has requested payment. My question is, should the online retailer have charged VAT? Should I go back to them and request the VAT to be refunded? Thanks so much for your help on this, it is really appreciated and sorry if I didn’t completely follow your last response. Paul

Hi Paul Cooper If the retailer knows that the consignment is over £135 and their T&Cs say the purchaser is responsible for taxes they shouldn’t also charge you UK VAT. You should pay the VAT once either as import VAT or UK VAT or you give the retailer an amount equivalent to the VAT so they pay on your behalf. I would go back to the retailer.

Hi, I purchased some skincare products from abroad and the total I paid was exactly £135 including postage and packaging. According to the gov.uk website for Tax and Customs for goods sent from abroad (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty) it states that any goods worth £135 or less there is no charge. The courier UPS charged duty on this parcel saying that their exchange rate from USD to GBP comes to £137.72. I sent them my bank statement and the order confirmation showing that I paid £135. The website I purchased from has different currencies and I selected GBP as I know about the £135 threshold due to previous experience. Surely it's about how much I paid in GBP and not what their conversion rate is as I did not pay £137.72. Please shed some light on this. Many Thanks

Hi The £135 limit gives relief from customs duty but not import VAT. The £135 applies to the goods only not postage & packaging. Vat however applies to the total value. The seller should in fact be uk vat registered and charge the vat at point of sale. If the customs invoice was not in GBP as would appear to be the case on this shipment then the official customs exchange rate will apply. These are not commercial exchange rates applied by UPS but those set each month by HMRC.

Hi Paul,
The following response is in relation to your post above made 8 days ago on the 14 August 2024.
You can request for a reimbursement from the seller for charges.
You can also request a repayment from border force who collects the customs charges on behalf of HMRC.
More information is available at the following link:
Report incorrect Customs Duty or VAT on items imported by post (BOR286)
Thank you 

Hi Kay,
This response is in respect of your post above made 5 days ago on the 17 August 2024.
Customs charges are generated based on declared value, currency and exchange rates at the time the import declaration was completed.
If you believe you have been charged incorrectly, you can claim for repayment if you’ve overpaid import duty and VAT.
In some cases you may also be able to claim if you’ve overpaid VAT or excise duty.
Guidance is available at: How to claim a repayment of import duty and VAT if you've overpaid
Thank you

I am considering purchasing footware from an international retail platform with a purchase price of £71.45, including postage. The shoes are made in the EU (Austria) and posted from Spain. The goods fall below the £135 limit for duties but please confirm I will not be obliged to pay VAT (as well as any charges relating to this by the carrier) in the UK before receiving the goods. I don not know if the retailer in Spain is registered with HMRC. Thank you

Hi Goods below £135 will not be charged any import duty irrespective of where they are made or posted from. There is no relief from VAT . You need to check with the retailer whether they will charge the UK VAT on your purchase price. If they do then there should be no additional vat charges on entry to the uk. If UK VAT isn’t charged then it will be charged at entry to the UK. The carrier will notify you of any charges Again you will need to check with the retailer terms and conditions on whether there will be any charges applied directly by the carrier.

Hi Harrylee,
You will not have to pay anything to the delivery company to receive goods worth less than £135 unless they’re gifts over £39 or excise goods (for example, alcohol and tobacco).
More information on below link:
Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad.
Thank you.

Hello HMRC Admin 21 Response I was due to receive the footwear today referred to in our recent correspondence but instead received a card (ref 38266-CU) from Royal Mail advising me that the goods incur a customs charge of £21.65 including the handling fee of £8. I assume the reference to a customs charge relates to import duty and not VAT, which is specifically ruled out by the post from Customs oldtimer above. The retailer in Spain has also assured me that I would not have to pay anything on receipt and and you stated above that I will not have to pay anything to the delivery company as the goods are worth less than £135. It looks to me that I have been wrongly charged £21.65. If you agree that I have indeed been wrongly charged is there any mechanism to have it waived? The card does not offer this option, merely referring me to royalmail.com/fee to pay or to go to the local main post office. I prefer the latter but imagine arguing the case might not be straightforward so I would appreciate any further advice on how best to proceed from you or Customs oldtimer. It would be very helpful to have a statement from you confirming that I have been wrongly charged, to present at the post office, requesting the charge be lifted. Thank you

Hi Goods below £135 are relieved( exempted ) from duty. If you have paid UK VAT to the Spanish retailer then there should not be any additional VAT to pay at import. The UK VAT should have been added at checkout. The Post Office will calculate the charges based on the information provided by the sender. If you think you have been overcharged VAT the you can reclaim using a BOR 286 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-customs-dutyimport-vat-relating-to-imports-by-post-bor286 As the post office administer the customs charges you will have to take matters up with them with regard to their admin fees.

Hi Your proof of prior payment of import VAT would be the Spanish Suppliers invoice which should show the uk VAT charge.

Hi Harrylee smith,
You may need to check with Royal mail to find out what was the declared value at the time of export.
Please remember the customs value includes the value of the goods, postage, packaging, insurance and any duty you owe. 
You may need to complete below form for parcels or packets received through Parcelforce or Royal Mail only, if you believe that Customs Duty or import VAT has been incorrectly calculated on your imported item.
Report incorrect Customs Duty or VAT on items imported by post (BOR286) EnglishCymraeg
Thank you. 
 

I am considering buying coffee beans for delivery from Italy (which have been roasted in Italy although clearly not grown there - but I believe would be classed as 'sufficiently worked or processed'). Having followed the UK Integrated Online Tariff for Commodity 0901210000 I believed I could order coffee up to the value £135 and pay the additional £20 shipping cost on top resulting in a duty total of £0. However, when I use the online tool to enter a higher value (picked £400 as that is the most the supplier will ship!) it still provides a £0 duty total. Is this because roasted coffee beans are 0% VAT and exempt from excise or will I get a nasty surprise if I try to order a year's supply!