BornClueless

Thank you both. I continued asking only because by saying "net figure" HMRC Admin 21 seemed to be contradicting Customs oldtimer, by saying "take the putative VAT component off". But now l see you are indeed both saying the same thing and therefore my query has been answered. Thanks again. I hope this helps other people too.

Hi there thanks for both replies. @HMRC Admin 25 - are you saying the same as @Customs oldtimer ? What do you mean by "you are not VAT registered then the value of your supply will be the net figure." ? Net figure = sans export country's VAT? I am in the UK, l want to sell something worth £600 to EU and Japan. For export to EU and Japan, in both cases, are you saying l should declare the value as £500? That sounds like "net" figure ... Thing is, l'm not VAT reg'd, and it looks like what a VAT reg'd seller should do i.e. we do the same thing, declare net value, sans VAT. At the very least l think it's fair because otherwise the buyer pays two nations' VAT, and l've heard rumours of buyers demanding a refund of the UK VAT, but l can't recall if the UK seller was VAT reg'd in those instances.

If a non-VAT registered seller exports an item to the EU, is the declared value = the sale price minus the UK VAT element? i.e. sell for £120, export to EU ---> declare value as £100? I ask because everything l've read online indicates this is correct, and because the end user, being a private individual, will themselves be paying VAT on import into their home country.