Customs oldtimer

Hi The arrangement you have described with the freight forwarder acting as importer in their own name is highly unusual unless they are also sales agents . It would be more typical if they were acting as indirect customs representative for the Chinese seller or more commonly representative of the UK buyer. As a representative they would still need to use their EORI, it does not make them the importer. We do not have a definition of importer of record in the UK legislation. You really need to check exactly what has been or is being agreed contractually as DDP can be interpreted quite differently particularly by sellers and buyers. Only when you fully understand the agreement and responsibilities of the various parties will you understand what is required from a tax / VAT perspective . DDP looks like the easy option for the buyer but you should also consider other Incoterms where you have control of the customs declaration and import taxes. Most frequently the seller is only agreeing to pay customs duties but not taking responsibility for the customs clearance and being the importer. Overseas sellers may not understand the UK VAT implications so the buyer is named importer and responsible for the import VAT particularly if they are VAT registered in the UK. To take one scenario, If you are not named as importer and have no contractual agreement with the freight forwarder then you would have no right to any import documents ,sight of duty payments etc as these costs should already be included in the DDP price. If this is the case you are not importing goods the seller or their agent is.

Any goods arriving in the UK would be subject to duty unless one of the specific procedures is requested. Goods are not usually automatically granted duty relief based on notes on an invoice In the case of goods being exported / reimported after repair details a re on the . Gov website - www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-pay-less-duty-on-goods-you-export-to-process-or-repair. For infrequent users the authorisation by declaration is all that is needed so it may be the communication of requirements to who ever you have used to import the goods into the UK.

A private individual does not need an EORI number to import. An EORI is just an importer / exporter registration number and is not a requirement for setting up a business An EORI number is however needed when the import is for a business therefore it would be expected a business has a UTR. If you are buying goods and selling them for a profit then you are a business see the HMRC guidelines on the . Gov website- set up a business. There is also guidance on setting up as a sole trader .

If you incur local VAT for goods supplied to you overseas this is outside the scope of UK VAT . You will need to check with the Swiss authorities if they permit reclaim of VAT and if so what their procedures are for overseas companies .

Hi David Carr Firstly I would go back to whoever the shipper/ customs agent who declared the higher value and ask why they used that amount. Was this the amount the seller notified when the shipment was booked ? Most couriers will use the value supplied on the accompanying invoice, so the information provided by the seller may have been incorrect. If you believe the goods have been declared with the wrong value you can submit a claim on a C285( or BOR286 if shipped via post). It is a requirement to declare a correct customs value for import based on the legislation on customs valuation.

Sorry but I noticed a typing error in my previous post. Import VAT is 20% not 29% !

Hi HMRCforumshandy I note You have said ‘HMRC taxing VAT on my turnover of zero-rated and exempt supplies’and ‘I just have to pay the VAT on my turnover regardless, VAT is not a tax applied to turnover or even profit, so as previously advised as a VAT registered business you can reclaim VAT you have paid but must then charge it on your sales, you then give any VAT collected to HMRC. So then net effect on your profits is nothing. If items have no VAT charged or are zero rated at both purchase and sale then as you have paid no VAT nor charged any VAT there is nothing to reclaim or therefore pay to HMRC. You should talk to your accountant again to see what taxes you are actually paying, if any, if your business is not profitable.

This will depend on how you have shipped the items a what value they are. Goods that have a value below £39 will be duty and tax free. Goods between £40 a d £135 will be duty free but subject to VAT @ 29% for most goods. Goods over £135 will be charged duty and VAT . HMRC do not normally directly contact importers for the taxes. If any taxes are due and the goods have been sent by post then the post service will contact the receiver and ask them / someone to pay online . Who pays does not matter. If the goods have come by fast parcel courier then it depends on what was arranged when you dispatched the goods. Again they will usually contact the recipient for payment. Who actually pays does not matter so it is between you and your friend to decide.

Hi ssku Case 1 . No you cannot claim overseas VAT on your UK VAT return. VAT is country specific so you should check the Spanish requirements. It may be the transaction creates a requirement to register for VAT in Spain/ the EU . Case 2 a) if your customer is the importer named on the import declaration then they will be responsible for the import duty and import VAT . Case 2b) if you are the named importer then you will be responsible for import VAT & duty. There is then a separate second transaction to make a domestic sale to your customer. If the customer is the importer and you pay on their behalf then it’s a commercial matter what you recharge them for. Please bear in mind only the importer is entitled to import vat recovery or to use postponed vat accounting.

Yes, it doesn’t matter where the goods were originally sourced, they will always be treated as a fresh import into the EU. You have to remember that although both the EU and UK have trade agreements with S. Korea they are entirely separate agreements with their own rules and proofs of origin. The two agreements are not interchangeable. The trade agreement that the UK has with S. Korea only permits goods duty free entry into the UK when the exporter in S. Korea provides the correct proof of preferential origin. The trade agreement that the EU has with S. Korea only permits duty free entry to the EU if the exporter in S. Korea provides the correct proof of preferential origin. You therefore cannot send goods of S. Korea preferential origin that have been entered to the UK with proof of origin under the UK agreement and expect duty free entry to the EU . It is not possible for a UK exporter to provide the correct proof of origin. If you hold the goods in CW ie not customs cleared in the UK and you can provide proof of preferential origin issued by the exporter in S . Korea under the EU trade agreement then the goods can potentially enter the EU duty free. In practice this is unlikely. If goods were shipped direct from S. Korea to France with the appropriate proof of preferential origin under the EU agreement then the importer could claim reduced duties. If no proof of preferential origin is available then the standard MFN rate would apply.