Tom O'Connor

Dear Harrylee, I hope you don't think I was trivialising the situation. I was in essence describing just how bad this whole situation is. Since you have confirmation that the product was €80 in value, this is well below the threshold and any duty or Import VAT collected and paid by the online marketing platform owner if a B2C purchase. It is fairly clear cut on how it should be handled, but unfortunately this isn't always the case. I know that you have stated that you have sent the labels with your BOR286 submission. Experience is that unfortunately, documents get separated frequently and in some instances disappear without trace, even when recorded delivery is used. Therefore, I hope that you took photocopies of the labels, Good luck and let us know how things progress.

If you think this is bad, then you should see the challenges which we now face with samples of food products being moved between the UK and EU (and vice versa). We have to put in the same effort for a €20 box of something as a 20 tonne lorry load of the same product.

Hi, I fear that there has been an over-simplification of the interpretation of this rule, so if I may I would like to add my understanding: - Firstly, the customs value of the goods is based upon their intrinsic value. If the seller ships the goods with the value of the goods and freight charges separately stated, then the intrinsic value is that of the goods alone. If they do not, then the total combined value of goods and shipping costs become the "intrinsic value". - This should mean that if a package is shipped with the stated value of the goods as £120 and the freight/shipping charge of £16.00, then the shipment will be assessed as £120.00 and pass under the new rules. - However, if the goods and shipping are expressed together (as £136.00) then the goods would be treated as an import subject to further duties, as people have experienced above. Therefore in order to maximise the value of goods and not fall foul of this relatively low ceiling, customers buying goods from overseas should insist that the seller separates out the costs of the goods themselves from the cost of shipping the items on the invoice. Failure to do so, will potentially expose an unwitting buyer to these problems. For more information look up Gov.UK - "VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK" for more details.

Thank you

Hi, I have been researching PPT and I am seeking a some reliable information on the eligibility criteria for registering for PPT, particularly were there are multiple packaging components made from different materials. It appears to me that many businesses (including high street names) have a rather simplistic understanding of what qualifies for PPT and how it is applied. Having read both the 2021 Finance Act and the PPT Regulations, there is a lot of cross-referencing, but it appears to me to suggest that PPT is only applicable if plastics represent the largest primary and secondary packaging components by weight, when compared to all other components. If this is the case, I believe that are some foreign businesses in particular that are being urged to register for PPT, when there is no need. In one instance, I have provided a thorough explanation of how I understand PPT to work, along with supporting evidence in the form of the results of the HMRC online calculator and this is being rejected. Therefore one of us has it wrong; and I don't think it is me. I am therefore looking for a very solid presentation or guide (preferably not an online document) which I can offer to both the suppliers and the purchasers of their products. Has HMRC produced anything like this? Thanks