Amazon.co.uk - No VAT on certain items under €22

bfa1509

If you have prime/free delivery it appears that a lot of items under €22 will come without any VAT/import charges applied. An EU rule allows the import of items under €22 without being subject to any VAT but this will be closed in July it appears.

I'll get us going:

I got this nifty utility knife before christmas and thought I'd get a second:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07SJY8KK6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Costs: 12.99
Apply Utility Knife voucher -10%
No VAT obligation -20%
Final price: £9.74

Note: Does not apply to all types of item. Also, discount only visible at checkout!

I would imagine the items that don't reduce at checkout are the items that have a 0% UK VAT rate.

bfa1509

Deleted User wrote: »

I would imagine the items that don't reduce at checkout are the items that have a 0% UK VAT rate.

Ah, that makes sense. I was wondering why it didn't work for some things.

While a 20% discount on an item €22 or less isn't all that exciting, if, like me, you buy items regularly under 22eur, those pound or two savings start to add up!

skitzyspider

I was about to place an order for a book on Amazon UK and just noticed I am being charged a £6.96 import fees deposit! I was under the impression that because amazon charges Irish VAT, that Irish customers would not be liable for import fees but obviously I must be wrong? I hate Brexit!!!

skitzyspider

skitzyspider wrote: »

I was about to place an order for a book on Amazon UK and just noticed I am being charged a £6.96 import fees deposit! I was under the impression that because amazon charges Irish VAT, that Irish customers would not be liable for import fees but obviously I must be wrong? I hate Brexit!!!

Who was the seller

skitzyspider

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Who was the seller

Amazon is the seller. I just tried a few more sold by amazon products and I am getting charged import duties on all of them. For reference, I am a prime member and I live in Ireland.

Jofspring

skitzyspider wrote: »

Amazon is the seller. I just tried a few more sold by amazon products and I am getting charged import duties on all of them. For reference, I am a prime member and I live in Ireland.

I did the same thing but the total is staying the same.

Items are decreasing in price and then when you add the import deposit it brings it up to the same as if it was being delivered to the UK.

Check the price to a UK address and then check it to an Irish address and see if the final price differs.

bfa1509

skitzyspider wrote: »

Amazon is the seller. I just tried a few more sold by amazon products and I am getting charged import duties on all of them. For reference, I am a prime member and I live in Ireland.

Is each individual item over 22euro? Try them seperately if not.

I've made about 5 separate orders today on items under 22. Such a waste...

nephster

skitzyspider wrote: »

I was about to place an order for a book on Amazon UK and just noticed I am being charged a £6.96 import fees deposit! I was under the impression that because amazon charges Irish VAT, that Irish customers would not be liable for import fees but obviously I must be wrong? I hate Brexit!!!

Please link to the item, so we can tease out what's going on.
Import fees = Irish VAT, in most cases.
For "normal" items, above €22, you will see the price at checkout going down as UK VAT is being removed, but this new "Import fees" section added, which in nearly all cases is just the Irish VAT being applied. Including on delivery, if you don't have free delivery.

In the case of something that costs 59.99, when you go to checkout the new price will be 49.99 (£10 UK VAT at 20% removed) with 10.50 added under fees (Irish VAT at 21% added). So should be 60.49.
It's very easy to not see that the pre-tax price has gone down as the UK VAT has been removed and just see the extra "import fees" part. But for most stuff over €22, the price should be the same as last week.
There will be a few cases where the wrong VAT rate may be applied, but you should get a refund in those cases - the deposit will veer on the side of caution, I imagine. I just tried a more expensive book myself, and yes, a VAT rate of 13.5% was applied. I would very much hope that this would be refunded as I think print books are indeed zero-rated.

kneemos

skitzyspider wrote: »

Amazon is the seller. I just tried a few more sold by amazon products and I am getting charged import duties on all of them. For reference, I am a prime member and I live in Ireland.

Import fees is Irish vat that you were always charged. Now they have to make it clear.

bfa1509

kneemos wrote: »

Import fees is Irish vat that you were always charged. Now they have to make it clear.

I didn't think there was VAT applied to books in the UK or ireland but maybe I'm wrong.

None of the books under 22 in my basket reduced in price so it's no good for this.

skitzyspider

kneemos wrote: »

Import fees is Irish vat that you were always charged. Now they have to make it clear.

On the item page it says the price for the book £46.09 includes UK VAT, but at checkout the price is not changing its staying the exact same £46.09 and then the import duties fees are being added on also. So basically amazon are charging UK VAT and then import duty fees on top of that. I’ve tried adding different sold by amazon items to compare and I’ve tried paying in euro and paying in sterling but I keep getting the same result. The UK VAT is not being removed or reduced at checkout and the import duty tax is being added on to every item. Looks like I’ll be cancelling my prime membership and not ordering from amazon anymore.

mirrorwall14

Good spot. Monitor/laptop stand on the way

Basq

My Prime is up for renewal shortly and I can see myself giving it a bit of a wide berth given these changes due to Brexit (we all knew it was coming tbh!).

The problem, from what I see, now seems to be the following:
- if you have Prime, all is good for buying €22 items and under with free delivery.
- if you don't have Prime, you're paying delivery on anything under €22 (due to Free Super Saver Delivery only on £25+).

So they have us over a barrel!

nephster

skitzyspider wrote: »

On the item page it says the price for the book £46.09 includes UK VAT, but at checkout the price is not changing its staying the exact same £46.09 and then the import duties fees are being added on also. So basically amazon are charging UK VAT and then import duty fees on top of that. I’ve tried adding different sold by amazon items to compare and I’ve tried paying in euro and paying in sterling but I keep getting the same result. The UK VAT is not being removed or reduced at checkout and the import duty tax is being added on to every item. Looks like I’ll be cancelling my prime membership and not ordering from amazon anymore.

In the specific case of books, this looks like a mistake. Print books are zero-rated, in both jurisdictions, but instead 13.5% is being added for ones above €22. They can't get lower in price, as there is no VAT to take off, they include UK VAT if you like, but that is at 0%.

I've tried multiple books over €22 and a standard 13.5% is being added as the import fees.
Fingers crossed this gets sorted soon.

Have you tried non-book items that come to over €22? They seem to be working at they should, reducing to the gross price then adding 21% as import fees. Ditto print books under €22, they are remaining at the UK/VAT-free price.

liamog

kneemos wrote: »

Import fees is Irish vat that you were always charged. Now they have to make it clear.

Looking at an invoice from the 18th of December, item was sold by Amazon EU S.à.r.l of Luxembourg with an Irish VAT# of IE9990705T via the Amazon.co.uk website and VAT rate of 21% applied. What exactly is the import fee meant to cover if they are already charging Irish VAT?

Looking at products over the €22 when I switch between UK and Irish delivery, the item price isn't reducing by 20% to account for the fact it should now be sold VAT free.

bk

liamog wrote: »

Looking at an invoice from the 18th of December, item was sold by Amazon EU S.à.r.l of Luxembourg with an Irish VAT# of IE9990705T via the Amazon.co.uk website and VAT rate of 21% applied. What exactly is the import fee meant to cover if they are already charging Irish VAT?

Looking at products over the €22 when I switch between UK and Irish delivery, the item price isn't reducing by 20% to account for the fact it should now be sold VAT free.

“Import Fee” is simply what they are now calling Irish VAT

Take a pair of Sony XM4 headphones, which are advertised at £305.

Add them to the Cart and you will see:
- Items: £254.17 (£305 - UK VAT at 20%)
- Import Fees Deposit: £53.38 (Irish VAT at 21% on £254.17)
- Order Total: £307.55

So for Amazon sold products over €22, it works out exactly the same as pre-Brexit, no difference at all. You just pay Irish VAT rather then UK Vat.

harmless

liamog wrote: »

Looking at an invoice from the 18th of December, item was sold by Amazon EU S.à.r.l of Luxembourg with an Irish VAT# of IE9990705T via the Amazon.co.uk website and VAT rate of 21% applied. What exactly is the import fee meant to cover if they are already charging Irish VAT?

Looking at products over the €22 when I switch between UK and Irish delivery, the item price isn't reducing by 20% to account for the fact it should now be sold VAT free.

Before Irish VAT was applied and you had to go digging to see how much exactly.
Now it is clearly stated as an import fee just so there is no confusion and customers know they will not be charged again when it arrives.

When I look at items now while logged into an Irish account all works as it should for items dispatched from and sold by Amazon. The price paid is just slightly above the listed price to account for the 1% extra VAT.

For items not sold by Amazon even if it is fulfilled by Amazon you are forced to pay both UK and Irish VAT.
I'm not sure why and I'm not sure if that is the way it should be.

ironictoaster

bk wrote: »

“Import Fee” is simply what they are now calling Irish VAT

Take a pair of Sony XM4 headphones, which are advertised at £305.

Add them to the Cart and you will see:
- Items: £254.17 (£305 - UK VAT at 20%)
- Import Fees Deposit: £53.38 (Irish VAT at 21% on £254.17)
- Order Total: £307.55

So for Amazon sold products over €22, it works out exactly the same as pre-Brexit, no difference at all. You just pay Irish VAT rather then UK Vat.

Thanks for clarifying this. Wondering is worth my while getting prime again if order items dispatched by amazon only.

bk

harmless wrote: »

For items not sold by Amazon even if it is fulfilled by Amazon you are forced to pay both UK and Irish VAT.
I'm not sure why and I'm not sure if that is the way it should be.

I’m not seeing this! I just checked three items sold by a third party company but Fulfilled By Amazon and they all work out correctly, charging only Irish VAT at 21%. No UK VAT charged.

harmless

bk wrote: »

I’m not seeing this! I just checked three items sold by a third party company but Fulfilled By Amazon and they all work out correctly, charging only Irish VAT at 21%. No UK VAT charged.

Ok I'm mostly seeing it with Chinese sellers which makes sense but makes shopping difficult as it is not marked as such.

But this one is in the UK and if I try a once off order I am charged Irish VAT on top of the UK price that includes VAT.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skinners-Field-Trial-Food-Salmon/dp/B003EGHDIO/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=dog+food&qid=1609552889&sr=8-6

Perhaps it's VAT free in the UK but not Ireland?

torrevieja

bfa1509 wrote: »

Is each individual item over 22euro? Try them seperately if not.

I've made about 5 separate orders today on items under 22. Such a waste...

What happens if they put them all together now do they charge Vat then

So if its €20 euro for one and you buy another item for €21 and something else for €17

so now you have 3 items but total value of put together which Amazon always do will Now be €58, u hit for vat then ?

harmless

No one will know until the 4th when the fist post transition period deliveries go out.

I can't see revenue putting in the effort to screen for this as the €22 exemption is being removed later this year and Amazon will once again add Irish VAT to all orders. Of course I could be wrong but we should know soon.

liamog

harmless wrote: »

Ok I'm mostly seeing it with Chinese sellers which makes sense but makes shopping difficult as it is not marked as such.

I think that's what it could be, there was a pair of shoes that were sold by a Chinese seller but fulfilled by Amazon and available on Prime. The item price had VAT @20%; plus an import fee of 21% to cover the Irish VAT. I guess it's just some kinks in the system.

UDAWINNER

does customs duties apply if your item is over £150?

Libera

UDAWINNER wrote: »

does customs duties apply if your item is over £150?

€150


Per Revenue...


If your goods have:

• a customs value (including cost, transport, insurance and handling charges) of €22 or less you will not have to pay Customs Duty or VAT
• a customs value of more than €22 you will have to pay VAT
• an intrinsic value (the value of the goods alone excluding transport, insurance and handling charges) of more than €150 you will have to pay Customs Duty.

These limits are for the whole delivery, not just one item. You must pay the above duties where applicable, and VAT on alcohol or tobacco products, perfumes or toilet waters, regardless of their value.

Libera

Basq wrote: »

My Prime is up for renewal shortly and I can see myself giving it a bit of a wide berth given these changes due to Brexit (we all knew it was coming tbh!).

The problem, from what I see, now seems to be the following:
- if you have Prime, all is good for buying €22 items and under with free delivery.
- if you don't have Prime, you're paying delivery on anything under €22 (due to Free Super Saver Delivery only on £25+).

So they have us over a barrel!

IIRC it was reduced from £25+ to £20+ for Free Super Saver Delivery at some stage in the last year or two and terms now state:


"For customers in the Republic of Ireland, orders including £20 or more (including local VAT) of eligible items, dispatched by Amazon, from any product category qualify for FREE Delivery."


For non-Prime, they still have us over a barrel unless exchange rate is favourably close and the basket is bang on £20.:rolleyes: Though Amazon showing the delivery charge and then deducting it may be enough to get it caught as part of the customs value.....hmmm!

Basq

Libera wrote: »

For non-Prime, they still have us over a barrel unless exchange rate is favourably close and the basket is bang on £20.:rolleyes: Though Amazon showing the delivery charge and then deducting it may be enough to get it caught as part of the customs value.....hmmm!

Yeah, that's my point alright.

Non-Prime with Super Saver Delivery now feels particularly pointless given you'll be likely be viable for additional fees once you hit it.

Essentially - "Spend £X for Free Delivery! "













* additional charges may apply"

madhatter76

This might help.
https://www.moneyguideireland.com/vat-and-online-shopping-in-the-uk-after-brexit.html

AFAIK January the vat free threshold is 19.95 GBP. Which is under the 20 GBP for free shipping.

Tails142

Just bought a knife for £9.74, thanks OP!

They're very sneaky with those 10% voucher thingies, went through first at 10.82, had to cancel and redo because I didn't click it a second time in the basket view after clicking for the voucher in the product page.

paddy19

https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/importing-and-exporting/exchange-rates/index.aspx
This is going to get interesting. (I know this issue goes away in July).

Does the €22 exemption apply when you place the order or
when the item hits Irish Customs?

Revenue issue new exchange rates every month.
They apply for that month.

What happens if you order an a £19.00 item (below the £19.95 for Jan) from Amazon.

The €22 exchange rate changes to £18.50 for February.

I suppose the trick is to get the shipper to declare in €.

Item arrives in February.
Exemption applies or not?

gogo

bk wrote: »

“Import Fee” is simply what they are now calling Irish VAT

Take a pair of Sony XM4 headphones, which are advertised at £305.

Add them to the Cart and you will see:
- Items: £254.17 (£305 - UK VAT at 20%)
- Import Fees Deposit: £53.38 (Irish VAT at 21% on £254.17)
- Order Total: £307.55

So for Amazon sold products over €22, it works out exactly the same as pre-Brexit, no difference at all. You just pay Irish VAT rather then UK Vat.

This is the most clear explanation I have read on any post with regard to buying from Amazon, I have read so many articles on this, both on boards and elsewhere.. this is the only one that actually clarifies it in simple terms!

mad m

My daughter was thinking of buying a kindle in December, on amazon it was £119 with ads and £129 without. I have prime so she went to order it yesterday and kindle was £108 plus import fee deposit of £22.75.

Total is now 131.07. It states on amazon regarding import fee if she is charged an additional import fee, we notify amazon and difference will be refunded.

See this kindle now has a delivery date of 24th March when it said 19th Jan when ordering so this might be getting cancelled if not shipped soon enough

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: £108.32
Postage & Packing: £0.00
Total Before VAT: £108.32
VAT: £0.00
Total: £108.32
Import Fees Deposit £22.75
Grand Total: £131.07

TheDriver

mad m wrote: »

My daughter was thinking of buying a kindle in December, on amazon it was £119 with ads and £129 without. I have prime so she went to order it yesterday and kindle was £108 plus import fee deposit of £22.75.

Total is now 131.07. It states on amazon regarding import fee if she is charged an additional import fee, we notify amazon and difference will be refunded.

See this kindle now has a delivery date of 24th March when it said 19th Jan when ordering so this might be getting cancelled if not shipped soon enough

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: £108.32
Postage & Packing: £0.00
Total Before VAT: £108.32
VAT: £0.00
Total: £108.32
Import Fees Deposit £22.75
Grand Total: £131.07

See the post just 2 above. They've taken off 20% UK vat and added IRL 21% vat but called it import fees.

Orebro

gogo wrote: »

This is the most clear explanation I have read on any post with regard to buying from Amazon, I have read so many articles on this, both on boards and elsewhere.. this is the only one that actually clarifies it in simple terms!

But you’re also liable for customs duty on items over 150 Euro, in addition to the Irish VAT? This calculation doesn’t seem correct to me.

paddy19

Orebro wrote: »

But you’re also liable for customs duty on items over 150 Euro, in addition to the Irish VAT? This calculation doesn’t seem correct to me.

Good point, but in this example of headphones there is 0% duty.

CSSE09

Orebro wrote: »

But you’re also liable for customs duty on items over 150 Euro, in addition to the Irish VAT? This calculation doesn’t seem correct to me.

The duty part is where things get tricky, not all things will be charged duty, this link does a better job of explaining it https://www.moneyguideireland.com/irish-customs-duty-on-uk-online-purchases.html

Enrico Palazzo

Not so simple, I am afraid. Some items attract additional fees, not sure why. This was just over £25 (adjusted for the Irish VAT rate) on checkout page a few days ago and now it's the nominal price + £5.24 import fees, so the cost increased by £5.

The Continental Op

mad m wrote: »

My daughter was thinking of buying a kindle in December, on amazon it was £119 with ads and £129 without. I have prime so she went to order it yesterday and kindle was £108 plus import fee deposit of £22.75.

Total is now 131.07. It states on amazon regarding import fee if she is charged an additional import fee, we notify amazon and difference will be refunded.

See this kindle now has a delivery date of 24th March when it said 19th Jan when ordering so this might be getting cancelled if not shipped soon enough

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: £108.32
Postage & Packing: £0.00
Total Before VAT: £108.32
VAT: £0.00
Total: £108.32
Import Fees Deposit £22.75
Grand Total: £131.07

It would have been that price previously when you were thinking it was £119 or £129 because Amazon always changed the VAT rate at the checkout for Irish customers.

kaka2001

Does anyone know the situation of paying UK VAT and delivering to Ireland via Addresspal? Will An Post charge Irish VAT on top of the UK VAT already charged (say on something costing £130 (including VAT)?

The Continental Op

Enrico Palazzo wrote: »

Not so simple, I am afraid. Some items attract additional fees, not sure why. This was just over £25 (adjusted for the Irish VAT rate) on checkout page a few days ago and now it's the nominal price + £5.24 import fees, so the cost increased by £5.

I think jewelry is handled differently and has an 2.5% import tax and in that case they aren't removing the tax but adding on the 2.5% and our Irish VAT rate.

Cameraman

bk wrote: »

“Import Fee” is simply what they are now calling Irish VAT

Take a pair of Sony XM4 headphones, which are advertised at £305.

Add them to the Cart and you will see:
- Items: £254.17 (£305 - UK VAT at 20%)
- Import Fees Deposit: £53.38 (Irish VAT at 21% on £254.17)
- Order Total: £307.55

So for Amazon sold products over €22, it works out exactly the same as pre-Brexit, no difference at all. You just pay Irish VAT rather then UK Vat.

What you say here makes sense to me. However, it's not what is happening on my test order.
I added the same item to my basket (price is now £316.58), but the checkout price stayed the same + Irish VAT on top. The UK VAT does not appear to have been deducted. Delivery address is Ireland.

Order Summary
Items: £316.58
Postage & Packing: £6.00
Import Fees Deposit: £67.74
Order Total: £390.32

Enrico Palazzo

The Continental Op wrote: »

I think jewelry is handled differently and has an 2.5% import tax and in that case they aren't removing the tax but adding on the 2.5% and our Irish VAT rate.

It appears the 21% VAT is added on top of the price, so it's double-taxed.

Mrmoe

I looked to get something over the 20 euro value to enable free delivery but under the 22 euro value to avoid the import fee. It doesn't look like it will work as they apply the free shipping discount only at the end. I'm not sure if it's due to the products I selected or if I am interpreting it correctly?

Enrico Palazzo

Enrico Palazzo wrote: »

It appears the 21% VAT is added on top of the price, so it's double-taxed.

It's not double-taxed. This item has 0% UK VAT. You can see that by changing your address to the UK. There is no breakdown of any added VAT like there is if you add a different item to your basket and change your address to the UK.

So in the UK it's considered a VAT exempt item (for whatever reason) but in Ireland it's not so 21% Irish VAT is added.

Enrico Palazzo

Deleted User wrote: »

It's not double-taxed. This item has 0% UK VAT. You can see that by changing your address to the UK. There is no breakdown of any added VAT like there is if you add a different item to your basket and change your address to the UK.

So in the UK it's considered a VAT exempt item (for whatever reason) but in Ireland it's not so 21% Irish VAT is added.

Sure, but no Irish VAT was added to the price of that item last year.

Enrico Palazzo

Enrico Palazzo wrote: »

Sure, but no Irish VAT was added to the price of that item last year.

I obviously can't confirm that or not, but I was replying to your statement where you said it's not so simple. It's actually more simple and easier to understand than it was last year where the price of the item seemed to randomly change at the last step without you being told it was because of a VAT adjustment.

kneemos

kaka2001 wrote: »

Does anyone know the situation of paying UK VAT and delivering to Ireland via Addresspal? Will An Post charge Irish VAT on top of the UK VAT already charged (say on something costing £130 (including VAT)?

Not sure,but I don't think they use their virtual address any,just the addresspal number.

Enrico Palazzo

Deleted User wrote: »

I obviously can't confirm that or not, but I was replying to your statement where you said it's not so simple. It's actually more simple and easier to understand than it was last year where the price of the item seemed to randomly change at the last step without you being told it was because of a VAT adjustment.

Fair enough, but I don't find it any easier having to reach the checkout page to see if an item I want to buy gets 21% more expensive there or not. Until now I knew the final price would go up - recently by less than 1%, except for a rather small group or products that have preferential VAT rates in UK, but not here. But even for those product the difference was never as big as now.

Oh well, at least we get to enjoy the VAT-less small value items for the next half a year.

davork

kaka2001 wrote: »

Does anyone know the situation of paying UK VAT and delivering to Ireland via Addresspal? Will An Post charge Irish VAT on top of the UK VAT already charged (say on something costing £130 (including VAT)?

- You'll have paid UK VAT (if applicable) to get it to a UK address
- An Post (actually Revenue) may request a copy of the invoice (as I havent seen a bill in an amazon box for yonks)
- Revenue wont give a care if you've paid UK VAT, that's not their problem, but should only charge you IE VAT (where applicable) on the 'intrinsic' value of the item(s)

I suspect we'll hear a few calls into Joe Duffy once people get charged like this... and as for claiming the UK VAT back... good luck!

richardw001

mad m wrote: »

My daughter was thinking of buying a kindle in December, on amazon it was £119 with ads and £129 without. I have prime so she went to order it yesterday and kindle was £108 plus import fee deposit of £22.75.

Total is now 131.07. It states on amazon regarding import fee if she is charged an additional import fee, we notify amazon and difference will be refunded.

See this kindle now has a delivery date of 24th March when it said 19th Jan when ordering so this might be getting cancelled if not shipped soon enough

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: £108.32
Postage & Packing: £0.00
Total Before VAT: £108.32
VAT: £0.00
Total: £108.32
Import Fees Deposit £22.75
Grand Total: £131.07

Someone asked me about buying a kindle yesterday - my advice was to look at argos - no hassle with import messing - the standard 2020 kindle is really nice - btw (80 euro in argos - and should be available much sooner than mid-jan)

We have the oasis and paperwhite and standard 2020 ones in our household and the standard one stacks up very favourably.

Anyway I'd be very slow to order anything electronic over 40-50 euro from Amazon.co.uk at the moment if I can get elsewhere in Ireland - at least until we see the lie of the land.