Customs oldtimer

Hi Under EXW the seller has no further obligation to the buyer once the goods have been made available to the seller at your premises. The buyer is responsible for loading and transporting the goods and has no obligation to export the goods at all. You rightly say that the non UK established buyer cannot act as the exporter . Someone else who is established in the UK who has the power to ensure the goods are exported can act as the exporter. The buyer will be exporting their own goods so strictly speaking the seller has no obligation to provide a commercial invoice for export. As previously mentioned EXW is high risk for a business wanting proof of export to be able to zero rate the export. I would strongly recommend FCA Incoterms instead meaning the UK seller has control of the export. The buyer can still pick up at the seller’s premises. You need to look at the full Incoterms rules not just the charts .

Hi AHG I suggest that you engage an accountant or advisor who will help with the set up of a business and advise on your business and personal tax position. There are many rules about registration of your business and requirements for separation of your personal and business tax and banking.

How a drop shipment is accounted for will depend on where you are based , whether you are drop shipping to individuals or to businesses and who will be the importer. There is an import duty relief on goods in consignments below £135 but VAT is due on all shipments whatever the value. How that VAT is accounted for again depends on whether the shipment is to individuals or businesses. There are specific rules for overseas businesses selling to private individuals.

You wouldn’t charge UK Vat as the sale is an export . Nor can you charge Italian VAT as you are not registered for VAT there. When selling overseas you should be clear with both your customer and courier who is paying for what so there are no surprise fees. So you could make sure your price is inclusive of all taxes and charges.

Remember if you use outward processing on export you/ your customer will need to reimport using outward processing as well. Duties/ tax will be due on the cost of the modification.Returned goods can only be used if the goods have not undergone any changes, The goods must be re-imported in an unaltered state, apart from any work that may have been carried out to maintain the goods in working order, the goods cannot have been upgraded to increase their value.specifically they must not have been exported to be repaired or processed.

To answer your second question. All goods imported into the UK must be declared to customs and pay import duty and import VAT. Vat is usually 20 % unless the goods are zero rated . Import duty will depend on what the goods are. The nature of the declaration needed will depend on the method of shipment . Your company will also need to register as an importer and get its EORI number. You may also need to find a customs clearance agent to help with the customs declaration.

You will need to check what the VAT requirements are in the countries you are supplying. You may ,as a UK business ,find holding stocks or making supplies in an EU country triggers a local VAT registration requirement. Often there is a zero threshold for non EU businesses. The goods will also be subject to export and import formalities and import VAT will be charged if your goods are not zero rated in the country of import. This is applicable whether you are VAT registered or not. On the plus side you are able to zero rate your export from the UK provided you have proof of export from the UK.

Yes you will need to pay the duty on the second import. You can reclaim import duty and VAT on a rejected import. The type of application will depend on how the goods were originally imported. If they were imported by post it will be. BOR 285 anything else including couriers / fast parcel operators it is a C 285 . There is also an online application depending on how the goods were imported. For goods purchased on line you have 90 days from import to make the claim. You will also need to provide proof of import ,duty payment and reexport. Look up how to apply for a repayment of import duty.

It is correct that you can use authorisation by declaration 3 times in a rolling 12 months. I don’t work for HMRC but to my knowledge this concession has not been removed. Assuming the courier is using CHIEF for export then the export CPC is not 2100000 as this is for exporters who have prior approval. May I suggest instead the below. 4.5 21 00 004 Goods covered Authorisation by Declaration (formerly known as Simplified Authorisation) — UK goods temporarily exported outside the UK for repair under Outward Processing (OP) (including goods exported for repair and return in the context of a free trade agreement), with application for authorisation for OP being made at the time of lodging the export declaration. The courier should have been more helpful in directing you to an alternative so perhaps try a different courier in future. On reimport the authorisation has been in effect been granted by the export declaration .

Firstly there isn’t a standard way that companies use to import into the UK. Each company is different and has different commercial considerations. Usually the customs representative is someone who is able to submit a customs declaration to HMRC. It is unlikely that this would apply to your co founder as from what you have described it is the business not the individual importing. As mentioned this is really something you need to resolve with your chosen carrier. Each will have their own commercial preferences. The rules are exactly the same as for UK companies trying to import into the EU. It is one of the consequences of Brexit fir both the UK and EU.