Amazon UK no longer removing UK VAT?

gzoladz

Hi,

Trying to place an order on Amazon UK (delivered by them) and although the estimate for import fees is added, the UK VAT is not automatically removed (as it happened on a previous order I placed earlier this year).

I contacted CS and they advised they would refund it to me when the item is delivered...what would be ok, but I found it a bit odd.

Has anyone else experienced this?

This is with items sold by and/or delivered by Amazon.

Thanks

What is the item? Are you sure it's not UK VAT exempt?

What was the item?

I just ordered an item and UK VAT was removed.

mgbgt1978

I have found that the UK VAT is only removed on items "dispatched from and sold by Amazon".
Any items sold by another Seller, but fulfilled by amazon don't seem to have the UK VAT removed.

gzoladz

Office chair.

I tried with items dispatched and sold by Amazon but it didn't remove it either...(I didn't order)

mgbgt1978

Can you link to a particular item.

gzoladz

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Can you link to a particular item.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YKCZN6W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_C831TM08JDWEV4H08XZZ

bennyx_o

That item isn't told by Amazon, only dispatched by them. As others have said Amazon only remove UK Vat on items sold by themselves.

This one removes the VAT for me

mgbgt1978

That chair is not "sold by amazon", just fulfilled by amazon.
Try this item;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOLYSLIP-Anti-Scuffing-Assembly-Paste-M115005/dp/B087XMJ9B9/ref=pd_cart_rp_1_1/257-4041713-0173348?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B087XMJ9B9&pd_rd_r=34876057-7f96-4c55-9187-4744a8aa3bdf&pd_rd_w=ybVfP&pd_rd_wg=pJnz4&pf_rd_p=acbcfc29-3f13-40b4-b005-b9e00418ec49&pf_rd_r=4QGWG7D6HG730CBFN3TQ&psc=1&refRID=4QGWG7D6HG730CBFN3TQ


It's something I purchased in January. No VAT then, and still no VAT today. It is 'dispatched from and sold by amazon'.

gzoladz

gzoladz wrote: »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YKCZN6W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_C831TM08JDWEV4H08XZZ

The seller is actually considering this as a VAT exempt item in the UK for whatever reason so there is not UK VAT to remove.

mgbgt1978

Where are you seeing the absence of UK VAT Aristotle ?

mgbgt1978

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Where are you seeing the absence of UK VAT Aristotle ?

Change your address to a UK one and there will be no VAT breakdown on the last step.



Do likewise on e.g. this chair instead and there will be a VAT breakdown.



Whenever there is no VAT breakdown, it's because there is no VAT being declared to Amazon.

Sleeper12

I buy several items per week from amazon. Four today alone. I've never encountered this. It must be a glitch

Sleeper12

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I buy several items per week from amazon. Four today alone. I've never encountered this. It must be a glitch

Not a glitch for us. There is no VAT being charged for UK addresses, which is either correct (for whatever reason) or incorrect (and UK residents should be paying £149.99 + UK VAT). We are however correctly being charged £149.99 + 21% VAT.

Sleeper12

I have a business account & I get the message "VAT exclusive price not available" on the chair linked.

Amazon cannot remove the UK vat if the seller doesn't tell amazon what the vat is on the item. Usually these sellers are based outside of UK and don't charge UK vat anyway.

Sleeper12

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I have a business account & I get the message "VAT exclusive price not available" on the chair linked.

Likely means the seller is not VAT registered. All explained here.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202133860

gzoladz

bennyx_o wrote: »

That item isn't told by Amazon, only dispatched by them. As others have said Amazon only remove UK Vat on items sold by themselves.

This one removes the VAT for me

Not really, if dispatched by Amazon, they remove the VAT if one is charged.

gzoladz

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Not a glitch for us. There is no VAT being charged for UK addresses, which is either correct (for whatever reason) or incorrect (and UK residents should be paying £149.99 + UK VAT). We are however correctly being charged £149.99 + 21% VAT.

Thanks a lot Aristotle, that's exactly it!

lwvbqobf

I just ordered an item and UK VAT.

mgbgt1978

The chair linked to seems to be coming from China.
No delivery date available, but still available for purchase.

stronglikebull

A lot of people are claiming that only items sold by Amazon will be VAT adjusted, and that items dispatched by Amazon from a 3rd party seller are not, but this is not true. I've bought lots from Amazon in the last three months and when dispatched by Amazon then they adjust the VAT at checkout. If the item is less than about £20, they remove the VAT and don't charge any Irish VAT, so you get it cheaper.

If shipping is handled by the seller directly, then it's up to them whether or not they remove the UK VAT and charge Irish VAT (if they are VAT registered here and are capable of doing this). Some of the big companies may do this, but I think most won't.

If the product is shipped from outside the EU and UK, then there may be no VAT at all so there's nothing to remove.

ArrBee

So, post brexit Amazon.uk say that they will collect the import fee deposit for stuff delivered by amazon coming into Ireland "if it is over 150e"

Has anyone actually found that for items below 150e/£130 they are actually leaving the IFD off?
All I see is them collecting the fee no matter what. (if it is above 22e)

I've raised if with Amazon but curious if others have a different experience...

whiterebel

Where are you seeing that? This is what I have: " Those items for delivery to countries or regions outside of mainland UK may be subject to taxes at the point of sale or completion of shipment, or border taxes, customs duties and fees levied in the country of importation ("Import Fees")." It's not over €150, that's the limit for duty. They collect once its over €22.

ArrBee

whiterebel wrote: »

Where are you seeing that? This is what I have: " Those items for delivery to countries or regions outside of mainland UK may be subject to taxes at the point of sale or completion of shipment, or border taxes, customs duties and fees levied in the country of importation ("Import Fees")." It's not over €150, that's the limit for duty. They collect once its over €22.

On this page it says:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GCXL3PUGPE5UU8PD

"where the value of your package exceeds €22 but is below €150, import VAT may be due and customs duties should not be due*"

Actually, I see the asterix there now...
They seem to collect the IFD even though they say it should not be due. and we have to trust the a refund will be issued sometime in the next 6 months.

Just to add, there are other sites that explain it.
VAT is due over 22e, but duty is only dues over 150e
https://www.moneyguideireland.com/buying-from-amazon-uk-after-brexit.html

ohnonotgmail

ArrBee wrote: »

On this page it says:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GCXL3PUGPE5UU8PD

"where the value of your package exceeds €22 but is below €150, import VAT may be due and customs duties should not be due*"

Actually, I see the asterix there now...
They seem to collect the IFD even though they say it should not be due. and we have to trust the a refund will be issued sometime in the next 6 months.

Just to add, there are other sites that explain it.
VAT is due over 22e, but duty is only dues over 150e
https://www.moneyguideireland.com/buying-from-amazon-uk-after-brexit.html

the situation with Amazon and VAT is identical to what it was before brexit. they have charged the irish vat rate to irish customers for a long time. We now get free entry into a draw where we may get the vat refunded.

davetherave

ArrBee wrote: »

On this page it says:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GCXL3PUGPE5UU8PD

"where the value of your package exceeds €22 but is below €150, import VAT may be due and customs duties should not be due*"

Actually, I see the asterix there now...
They seem to collect the IFD even though they say it should not be due. and we have to trust the a refund will be issued sometime in the next 6 months.

Just to add, there are other sites that explain it.
VAT is due over 22e, but duty is only dues over 150e
https://www.moneyguideireland.com/buying-from-amazon-uk-after-brexit.html

VAT may be due or may not be due depending on the category of the item.

If you are buying an adult sized pair of shoes then the standard rate of vat (21%) applies, but childrens footware is rated as zero % VAT, so not vat would be collected.

A book, or an atlas is zero-rated vat. So VAT would not be collected.



You are paying no more than you would have this time last year. The Import Fees Deposit is just what they are now calling Vat (if applicable) and Duty (if applicable)

ArrBee

Sorry I thought VAT was 23% and Duty was variable based on the category of goods as per revenue.ie
sure some things might be 13.5% but maybe less likely...

VAT is due on delivered items (where the cost including delivery) above 22e.
Duty is only applicable when it is above 150e and then, depending on the category of goods. (some are exempt)


Yes, Amazon have been removing UK VAT and putting on Irish VAT for ages and I was expecting that the cost when buying from Amazon would stay the same for invoices (not individual items) that are below 150e.
But it seems they are infact collecting duty "just in case"

ohnonotgmail

ArrBee wrote: »

Sorry I thought VAT was 23% and Duty was variable based on the category of goods as per revenue.ie
sure some things might be 13.5% but maybe less likely...

VAT is due on delivered items (where the cost including delivery) above 22e.
Duty is only applicable when it is above 150e and then, depending on the category of goods. (some are exempt)


Yes, Amazon have been removing UK VAT and putting on Irish VAT for ages and I was expecting that the cost when buying from Amazon would stay the same for invoices (not individual items) that are below 150e.
But it seems they are infact collecting duty "just in case"

the price has stayed the same for orders below €150. I have placed a couple of orders since january and the price is the same as it was before brexit. they are not collecting duty for orders below 150. The IFD is just VAT by another name.

ArrBee

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the price has stayed the same for orders below €150. I have placed a couple of orders since january and the price is the same as it was before brexit. they are not collecting duty for orders below 150. The IFD is just VAT by another name.

Interesting...

Were they also removing the UK VAT on those orders?

When going through checkout, I see that the IFD is on top of the UK price so more than it was last year.

ohnonotgmail

ArrBee wrote: »

Interesting...

Were they also removing the UK VAT on those orders?

When going through checkout, I see that the IFD is on top of the UK price so more than it was last year.

no. for items shipped by amazon they remove the UK vat before adding the IFD. For items shipped by third parties the UK vat may not be removed.

ArrBee

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

no. for items shipped by amazon they remove the UK vat before adding the IFD. For items shipped by third parties the UK vat may not be removed.

Yeah, I'm not seeing that when I go through the checkout.
It's IFD on top of UK VAT.

I'll wait to hear what Amazon say about it...

ohnonotgmail

ArrBee wrote: »

Yeah, I'm not seeing that when I go through the checkout.
It's IFD on top of UK VAT.

I'll wait to hear what Amazon say about it...

are the items sold by amazon themselves?

davetherave

ArrBee wrote: »

Yeah, I'm not seeing that when I go through the checkout.
It's IFD on top of UK VAT.

I'll wait to hear what Amazon say about it...

It it is an item sold directly by Amazon, or fulfilled by Amazon where the seller is registered for VAT in the UK then it really shouldn't be.

Take this as an example. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PMF-220-CE-Multi-Tool/dp/B01L70MM4S?

At the checkout stage, if it is going to a Dublin address, this is the pricing.

Items: GBP 53.46
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Import Fees Deposit: GBP 11.23
Order Total: GBP 64.69

£53.46 * 0.21% gets you £11.2366. IFD = 21% VAT.

Whereas if the item is being sent to an English Address:

Amazon.co.uk Order Summary
Items: GBP 53.46
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Total before VAT: GBP 53.46
Estimated VAT: GBP 10.69
Order Total: GBP 64.15


£53.46 * 0.20% = £10.69

Equally, if you take a book, like mentioned previously being rated zero for VAT. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-Boxed-Set/dp/0007581149.

Going to a Dublin address, there is not mention of Import Fees because no vat is collected on books:
Order Summary
Items: GBP 49.31
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Order Total: GBP 49.31

Going to a UK Address, would be the same pricing.

Order Summary
Items: GBP 49.31
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Order Total: GBP 49.31


Throw up a link to something you are looking at.

ArrBee

davetherave wrote: »

It it is an item sold directly by Amazon, or fulfilled by Amazon where the seller is registered for VAT in the UK then it really shouldn't be.

Take this as an example. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PMF-220-CE-Multi-Tool/dp/B01L70MM4S?

At the checkout stage, if it is going to a Dublin address, this is the pricing.

Items: GBP 53.46
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Import Fees Deposit: GBP 11.23
Order Total: GBP 64.69

£53.46 * 0.21% gets you £11.2366. IFD = 21% VAT.

Whereas if the item is being sent to an English Address:

Amazon.co.uk Order Summary
Items: GBP 53.46
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Total before VAT: GBP 53.46
Estimated VAT: GBP 10.69
Order Total: GBP 64.15


£53.46 * 0.20% = £10.69

Equally, if you take a book, like mentioned previously being rated zero for VAT. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-Boxed-Set/dp/0007581149.

Going to a Dublin address, there is not mention of Import Fees because no vat is collected on books:
Order Summary
Items: GBP 49.31
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Order Total: GBP 49.31

Going to a UK Address, would be the same pricing.

Order Summary
Items: GBP 49.31
Postage & Packing: GBP 0.00
Order Total: GBP 49.31


Throw up a link to something you are looking at.

do you have an amazon business account? I've never seen VAT as an extra line on the invoice when shipping to Ireland or UK. I still dont see VAT when shipping to UK.

The item is fulfilled by Amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YTXDYQ4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3H6AYT3B8CPXW&psc=1

In this example the item starting price includes UK VAT already.
the UK address should have nothing more added (other than a possible delivery charge)
The Ire address should have a different item price at checkout where the UK VAT is removed and IRE VAT is added. (like they used to do)

Adding IFD on top of the item price is adding adding 21% on top of UK VAT.
no?



UK address:
===========
Order Summary
Items: GBP 56.99
Postage & Packing: GBP 4.49
Total: GBP 61.48
Promotion Applied: -GBP 4.49
Order Total: GBP 56.99


IRE address:
===========
Order Summary
Items: GBP 56.99
Postage & Packing: GBP 6.00
Import Fees Deposit: GBP 13.23
Total: GBP 76.22
Promotion Applied: -GBP 6.00
Order Total: GBP 70.22



I've a question in with Amazon about it to find out whats going on.

stronglikebull

I've noticed something today with the Lightening Deals, that when you get to the checkout they either don't seem to be removing the UK VAT from the price or they don't give the proper discount for the deal.

I tried on one item that was £16.99 normal price and £14.44 deal price. If you add that to the cart and go to checkout, the price is £14.16, but if you add it at the non-deal price and go to checkout, it's also £14.16 so you're not getting any deal at all. £14.16 is the full price - UK VAT.

Looked at a keyboard that was supposed to have £7 off, but at checkout after adjusting the VAT correctly for Ireland, the discount was listed as -£0.18. I've noticed this on a few other deal prices in the last couple of weeks too.

gzoladz

stronglikebull wrote: »

A lot of people are claiming that only items sold by Amazon will be VAT adjusted, and that items dispatched by Amazon from a 3rd party seller are not, but this is not true. I've bought lots from Amazon in the last three months and when dispatched by Amazon then they adjust the VAT at checkout. If the item is less than about £20, they remove the VAT and don't charge any Irish VAT, so you get it cheaper.

If shipping is handled by the seller directly, then it's up to them whether or not they remove the UK VAT and charge Irish VAT (if they are VAT registered here and are capable of doing this). Some of the big companies may do this, but I think most won't.

If the product is shipped from outside the EU and UK, then there may be no VAT at all so there's nothing to remove.

This is 100% accurate, with the caveat that when Amazon ships items sold by a 3rd party seller, the seller needs to be VAT registered for the UK VAT to be deduced.

ArrBee

gzoladz wrote: »

This is 100% accurate, with the caveat that when Amazon ships items sold by a 3rd party seller, the seller needs to be VAT registered for the UK VAT to be deduced.

Thank you!
This seems to be the 1st clue as to a cause of the issue....

"if the 3rd party is not UK VAT registered".

Amazon have still not been able to provide an answer from there end but the above seems reasonable as the cause.


Edit to add:
Do we know what happens when the 3rd party is non-UK registered and double VAT is charged?
Like, can you request a refund?

In my dealings with Amazon so far on the pre sales question... they seemed to assume it was a post sale VAT refund request (which they have a process for).

Sleeper12

ArrBee wrote:

Edit to add: Do we know what happens when the 3rd party is non-UK registered and double VAT is charged? Like, can you request a refund?

If the 3rd party is non UK vat registered then there is no UK vat charged.

ArrBee

Sleeper12 wrote: »

If the 3rd party is non UK vat registered then there is no UK vat charged.

Even if delivered in to the UK?

i.e. when selecting a UK address it is the same price but has no import fee.

Pussyhands

Nice to see this thread.

I'm getting confused. I saw some items i wanted to buy, put them together to get free shipping and was wondering why I was met with a higher price?

The items I bought were listed to a sum of 21 pounds but then when I went to pay I had the import fees deposit.

Do I get this money back or what?

I'm also wondering if it's the pre fees cost that triggers free delivery or the post fee cost? If it's pre fees then we're getting ripped off.

corkie

Pussyhands wrote: »

Nice to see this thread.

I'm getting confused. I saw some items i wanted to buy, put them together to get free shipping and was wondering why I was met with a higher price?

The items I bought were listed to a sum of 21 pounds but then when I went to pay I had the import fees deposit.

Do I get this money back or what?

I'm also wondering if it's the pre fees cost that triggers free delivery or the post fee cost? If it's pre fees then we're getting ripped off.

If you haven't purchased from UK since the new year have a read here: -

How Brexit affects online buying Update 20th January <<< Vat is now 23%

And

New Import Duty/VAT Thread. Read Post #1 for Rules


And


About Import Fees Deposit


Basically you don't get the money back (unless overcharged), your basically just paying Irish Vat. And depending on seller the UK vat would have been removed. Have a look at the price before and at checkout.

Pussyhands

Yeah I bought already this year and the UK VAT was removed in the basket and Irish fees applied but for this time it was shipped by Amazon I was surprised to see the extra cost. It's a pain.

corkie

Shipped by Amazon but let me guess not sold by Amazon

As mentioned some sellers (maybe Chinese) aren't paying UK Vat, so no vat to be removed.

Sleeper12

ArrBee wrote:

Even if delivered in to the UK?

If the seller isn't UK vat registered then it's illegal for them to charge UK vat. This doesn't mean that the price is going to be cheaper. Maybe it will & maybe it won't. It just means that UK vat isn't part of what you are paying.

ArrBee

Sleeper12 wrote: »

If the seller isn't UK vat registered then it's illegal for them to charge UK vat. This doesn't mean that the price is going to be cheaper. Maybe it will & maybe it won't. It just means that UK vat isn't part of what you are paying.

I guess what I was asking is...

Is it legal for seller to sell on Amazon and deliver into the UK without paying, and therefore collecting, UK vat?

I just never imagined that Amazon would be fulfilling under those circumstances.
Surely it wouldn't be that easy to avoid vat in UK?

Sleeper12

ArrBee wrote:

Is it legal for seller to sell on Amazon and deliver into the UK without paying, and therefore collecting, UK vat?

Yes its legal. Many sellers are not based in UK or the EU for that matter. I bought a phone last year from amazon france. Before buying I asked about a VAT because I have a business account. They told me no VAT was charged. They actually gave me a 100 euro discount to secure the sale. The Phone was shipped from Korea.

migrant

I want to buy a food item from Aamzon, but they're charging VAT on zero rated food products once they're over £22 or so. How can they get away with pocketing the VAT on zero-rated items ?

migrant

migrant wrote: »

I want to buy a food item from Aamzon, but they're charging VAT on zero rated food products once they're over £22 or so. How can they get away with pocketing the VAT on zero-rated items ?

Example?

migrant

Deleted User wrote: »

Example?

Many food products



par exampla:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Brand-Happy-Select-Virgin/dp/B081BCM9P1

migrant

Nobody knows?

Sleeper12

The duty Amazon collect is like a deposit. If Irish customs don't charge Amazon anything then Amazon refund the Duty /import fees after a few weeks. They also refund the balance of these fees if customs charge them less than they thought. Most people have received small refunds of a few cents by now. I got 10 euro refund on import fees on goods worth 200 euro