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

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.

mp3ireland2

Cheers got headphones listed at £19.99 for £16.66 :-)

Enrico Palazzo

While Amazon UK have been gradually narrowing down the selection of products they ship to Ireland it seems to me that they removed way way more yesterday. Many of my usuals are now unavailable for shipping here.

Enrico Palazzo

Enrico Palazzo wrote: »

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.

That's Brexit for you. At least Amazon are VAT registered for Ireland, it could have been much much worse. And there's very few items that are VAT exempt in the UK but not in Ireland.

But as you say at least we can enjoy the cheap items being cheaper than usual until the summer.

whiterebel

richardw001 wrote: »

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.

I found Argos were only €4 more for a Kindle yesterday

_Whimsical_

I'm confused by this example from revenue.ie.
It looks as though they are suggesting that an extra courier handling fee could potentially apply for goods costing under 22 euro.
Does anyone know for sure if there's an absolute rule regarding handling on goods under 22 euro?

Example 1 - Goods with a value less than €22

Goods are purchased with a value less than €22 Value
Adult sports socks€15.00
Handling, transport and insurance€2.00
Value for customs purposes (€15 + €2)€17.00
Customs Duty (12%) – Relief from charge as goods cost below €150 threshold€0.00
Value for VAT purposes (€17 + €0)€17.00VAT (21%) - Relief from charge as value for VAT is below €22 threshold€0.00
An Post or courier handling fee (if applicable)€10.00**
Total import charges (€0 + €0)€0.00
Total cost€27.00

** Different administration charges may apply – charge quoted here is for illustration purposes.

From https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/buying-of-goods-online-for-personal-use/buying-goods-from-outside-the-eu.aspx

whiterebel

If applicable. People wont understand that if the freight is €15 ,for example, it puts it over the threashold.

Sheep Shagger

From An Post...

Popple3

Looks like third party sellers (even if fulfilled by Amazon) aren’t necessarily set up to take off the UK VAT.

Take the earlier example of the Sony XM4s. Right now, the cheapest option is sold by “Toggle” and fulfilled by Amazon. When I go through to checkout, the item price stays at the full price including UK VAT.

If I go into the list of available sellers though, I can select direct from Amazon for ~£1 more, but in checkout the UK VAT is deducted before adding the Irish VAT, so it works out much cheaper.

One more thing to keep an eye out for...

legend99

Apologies for butting in but what happens with secondhand goods from say Ebay?

mad m

whiterebel wrote: »

I found Argos were only €4 more for a Kindle yesterday

Are they the versions without ads? See one there for 147 euro ( says 2018 version?)