VAT / Charges when ordering online from EU/US

Gibs

Perhaps there is a better forum for this question, but does anyone know if I order something worth, say, 300-400 euro from another country, will I have to pay extra charges like VAT or import duty when it arrives? I've read that any goods ordered from the US go through Germany and have additional charges imposed on them. Also, An Post don't do package deliveries any more and a friend of mine was charged 30 euro for a package delivered from the States recently.

Anyway, 2 main questions:

1. If I order electronic goods from UK/France/Germany etc. will I be charged more than the p&p by customs or whoever?

2. Same question for goods ordered from US?

I'm thinking about getting a video cam and an iPod through online ordering but I don't want to be hit by extra charges that eat up the savings made by ordering from outside Ireland.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

mike65

If you buy goods within the EU no taxes are due. If you import from outside the EU then you are liable to import duties. I have'nt a clue about how much you might be charged if importing from the US, thats something you'll have to find out about but it might well be cheaper to buy within the EU once taxes are added...it all depends on exchange rates, US/EU price difference...etc.

Mike.

davelerave

if you're ordering from the eu you'll pay the vat inclusive price /no customs charges .if you're vat registered they'll deduct the vat or refund it to you.

from the usa i think they may charge vat/customs when you receive it unless it's wrapped as a gift or costs less than 50 dollars .to the best of my knowledge.
pixmania is agood place to buy electronic stuff
http://www.pixmania.com/dev/gui_web/home/index.php

spongebob

Gift limit €45 must say GIFT on the customs declaration green sticker.

Otherwise the limit is €22 under small package relief or small parcel relief , explained in an ecommerce page on the revenue site. Thats why CD and DVDs come in cheap, each package is worth less than €22 and that is why IRMA are pissing in the wind with the Revenue IMO.

Packages over €22 are liable for tariffs/vat .

If vat is already paid in France then cool.

If they come from the US Fedex or whatever courier handles the Irish end must collect the VAT n stuff.

M

Atreides

Just a point, In the EU you pay VAT at the rate charged in the destination country. Not the country you order from. Unless the company is under a certain size. That is why www.dsl-warehouse.ie charge 17.5% vat

The Muppet

Just a point, In the EU you pay VAT at the rate charged in the destination country. Not the country you order from. Unless the company is under a certain size. That is why www.dsl-warehouse.ie charge 17.5% vat

Never heard this before. I have be shopping online for eight years and always been charged VAT at the rate of the country where i purchased the goods. I don,t believe that statement to be correct. I would imagine that dsl wharhouse is actually uk based and that is the reason they charge 17.5%.

mike65

Your wrong Muppet, I just checked my last amazon invoice and its rated at 21% not 17.5%

Mike.


*nearly there.....!* :ninja:

sunbeam

Amazon.co.uk add on the difference between UK and Irish VAT on electronics at the checkout.

[Edit] Mike65 just beat me to it.

Baud

All AFAIK, IANAL etc..

Stuff inside the EU:
if the company does over X thousand EUR business with the destination country, they're supposed to get VAT registered there. If they are, they're supposed to charge the customer the local VAT rate. Amazon have an Irish VAT reg, so you get charged 21% rather than 17.5%.

Sutff outside the EU:
If it's an electronic download, the company is supposed to charge VAT at the destination country's rate. I don't know what the definition is. If it's shipped, you have the answer above. Up to 22 EUR it's duty/vat free. (unless it's a gift). After that, there's duty (payable on the price of the goods + shipping) and then VAT on top of that. AFAIK computer hardware has a duty rate of 0, but you still have to pay the VAT. (I can never find the documentation of this when I'm looking for it though )

L.

spongebob

Page 31 of this Revenue PDF explains who is liable to pay VAT where the 'small packages'threshold of €22 is exceeded. If you search the PDF for the word 'foreign' you will see the threshold, apparently its anything but there is a statement of practise from 1994 on the hard nitty gritty rules.

M

The Muppet

Your wrong Muppet, I just checked my last amazon invoice and its rated at 21% not 17.5%

I stand corrected, from my experience i have only ever been charge vat at the rate of the country the company is registered in. Komplette being the simples example that they now ship from the nederlands but are registered for VaT in Ireland so you pay 21%. I Buy alot of stuff from the UK and have only ever pais the UK Vat rate . A bit of research on the company he intends to buy from may be needed on the questioners part so.

mike65

I have to say I thought like you that one only paid VAT at the rate of retailers country....then I checked just to be sure...

www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/502576+vat+rates+within+eu&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/502578/ref%3Dcs_hd_lp_1/202-0096318-2685408

Mike.

Atreides

Originally posted by The Muppet
Never heard this before. I have be shopping online for eight years and always been charged VAT at the rate of the country where i purchased the goods. I don,t believe that statement to be correct. I would imagine that dsl wharhouse is actually uk based and that is the reason they charge 17.5%.

Its only a recent thing, Since VAT became an EU tax rather then a local one. Baud's repsonse explains it in more accurate terms.

dsl-warehouse is Uk based, but its so new it's not registered for vat here yet.

Victor

Originally posted by Skanger
Since VAT became an EU tax rather then a local one

VAT has always been an EEC/EU tax although set and collected by individual countries. VAT was introduced on our entry into the EEC and the EEC gets a cut of all VAT.

Corkey123

Victor my man.

Vat is not a EU tax. It is still a local tax that the EU gets a minor cut of (I think 1%) If it was a EU tax it would have been harmonise as all other taxes have such as Customs Duty, Anti-Dumping duty etc. have been.
To the original post all goods originating outside the EU are liable to Customs duty and VAT. The Custom duty is based on the classification of the goods. This can be obtained from the C&E information office at 6792777. Some of the courier companies will actually pay all charges on entry and charge the individual on delivery. Beware also some goods are laible to Excise duty also, although these are fewer. Vat is chargable on the total cost of the goods Plus the Customs charge (& Excise if included) and then added to the Customs duty to make the total import charge.

Gibs

Many thanks guys - I never cease to be amazed at the level of detailed info that people on these pages seem to have. Anyone happen to know the meaning of life, while you're at it?

Looking forward to bypassing high prices......

Cheers and happy xmas.:D

Keeks

not a bargain.....closed