Customs oldtimer

As this is an HMRC forum they will not be able to provide advice on commercial EU matters. The legislation in the EU requires that the exporter is established in the EU. In most cases this isn’t a problem as the seller of the goods to a non EU person will be the exporter. The law does make some concessions but requires a non EU person to use an EU established indirect representative . That representative takes joint legal liability for the accuracy of the declaration and any customs debt. This remains for a minimum of 3 years and in many cases longer for VAT. As there is a financial risk to these businesses it is a commercial choice whether they are willing to act as an indirect representative . In practice there are not many indirect representatives and those that are there are generally more expensive. We have exactly the same rules that would apply to non UK business. You should talk to your suppliers to see if they will export directly to you.

Hi This guidance covers declarations for personal exports. The value of the goods will most likely be outside your personal allowance for other goods https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-how-to-declare-personal-goods-you-bring-into-or-take-out-of-the-uk If you are travelling through France you may need a transit declaration to move the goods through without a customs declaration or incurring any charges until your destination. You will need to check requirements with the French authorities. You may find that the French authorities do not have such simplified procedures.

Hi I suggest you get some EU advice as it’s unlikely HMRC can comment on the EU requirements. In my opinion as you will effectively be taking ownership of the goods in Spain before you can sell to your Irish customer you will be making a taxable supply in Spain. As a non EU business there is no threshold for VAT registration so you will need to register for VAT . You will need to check whether that will need to be in Spain or Ireland.

As a suggestion you could raise a complaint on the basis of the lack of service. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-charter/the-hmrc-charter Or report it as fraud https://www.gov.uk/report-tax-fraud Alternatively raise this with your MP.

If the goods are remaining in the UK no special procedures are needed. There are however some relief for samples for goods to be given away at trade fairs. Goods would need to meet the conditions imposed by the relief. The procedure codes can be found in appendix 1 & 2 of the CDS completion instructions for data elements 1/10 and 1/11.

If you believe you owe the VAT and PVA shouldn’t have been used you can make a voluntary disclosure to regularise the situation. There is a document called a C2001 Details are in this guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/customs-debt-liability It shouldn’t be the case that your carrier can use PVA for a non VAT registered business, they should check that first you want to use PVA and also that you have a valid VAT registration,however these mistakes can happen .

Hi Have a look at https://www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use It tells you what your personal allowance is for other goods (£390)and what to do if the value is above this.

Hi umbriagreenheart Your question is too complex for a forum. You will need to consider not only the customs requirements but also the VAT implications for both yourself and your supplier.I suggest you get some professional advice. What you want to do is possible but it has to be set up correctly . For instance It may be that your supplier needs to register for VAT in the UK if they hold stock here. There are no restrictions on reexport but you cannot get duty refund of any duties paid in the UK unless you apply for and use a customs special procedure. Your supplier will also need to make sure they have the correct procedure in place when they reimport so they don’t pay their countries import duties on the return goods.

Hi Rachael Unfortunately there is a limit to the value of gifts you can receive duty free. It is set at £39. It may be that as there are two gifts and they are separately packaged you may have a case to say they are within the allowance. You need to look at the following guidelines https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-vat-and-customs-duty-on-gifts You then need to go back to the post office/ parcel force or the courier who is asking you to pay prior to delivery. Payment of taxes in other countries doesn’t make any difference to how the goods are treated when sent to the UK.

To add if duty was charged the rates for footwear are between 4 % and 16% depending on what they are made from.