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New Import Duty/VAT Thread. Read Post #1 for Rules Updated 14/11/2024

jor el

This is the Q+A on Import Duty+Tax thread [Do Not Ask How to Avoid Tax!].

Every 2nd post on the old thread was a "How much VAT will be on this item" type question, and the answer is always the same, so this thread will now be for questions that don't follow that same simple form. Before posting on this thread, please read the following.

RULES OF THREAD

When you import anything from outside the EU, it is subject to VAT and possibly duty, if it exceeds the limits. Limit for duty is €150, limit for VAT is €22 for purchases and €45 for a gift. If you buy it, it is NOT a gift. A gift is something someone sends you as a present. If you buy it as a present for someone else, that is not a gift.

The €22 limit has finished, so imports from Amazon UK and other non-EU countries will have to have VAT paid no matter how low the value is. Companies that ship into the EU can account for the VAT themselves , which maybe what AliExpress and the like will do. Amazon should just continue on as they are removing UK VAT, but adding Irish VAT after 1st July.

In the case of excise duty will always be collected if the goods are liable to excise duty.

The calculation for VAT includes the cost of postage. So if you buy an item for €10, and postage costs €40, then the total is €50 and you pay VAT on that amount. VAT is applied at 23% to the total amount, unless the item you are buying is VAT exempt, or classed at the lower rate of VAT. Duty rates vary, and often it is not even applied at all (except for special rate items like cigarettes and alcohol which are liable to Excise duty).

Discounts are allowed for purposes of calculating charges for customs for personal buyers, but there are rules in place for business purchasers.10-11/2022

The duty limit of €150 does NOT include postage, it is on the imported item/items value only.

3. Consignments of Negligible Value
Consignments not exceeding an
intrinsic value of €150 may be imported without payment of Customs Duty
, ~~while consignments not exceeding a total value of €22 may be imported without payment of VAT.~~
(Intrinsic value is the value of the goods alone, and does not include insurance and freight.) However, it should be noted in particular that there is no relief (from Customs Duty, VAT or Excise duty) under this negligible value provision for importations of tobacco, tobacco products, alcohol products, perfumes or toilet waters irrespective of their value.

Duty rates are called Taric codes, and can be found

here

currently. If the link doesn't work, Google for TARIC.

VAT/Duty will be calculated and collected by the postal carrier/courier. They will apply a handling fee for this, which can be between €4.95 and €15. An Post increased its charges from @€3.50 to €4.95 from 9th September 2024

If the item you are buying is sourced within the EU, then you do not pay duty or VAT, as it will already have been paid. This does not apply to items like cigarettes and alcohol. Some European based sites ship from outside of the EU, so check before you buy. The UK and Channel Islands (Jersey & Guernsey) are not in the EU.

Pre-owned or 2nd hand items are still liable for VAT. It makes no difference that it wasn't brand new. If it has a value, then it has value added tax, simple as that.

Posts that ignore these rules will be deleted.

Exchange rates used to convert from the foreign currency to Euros change monthly. The rate used for the month should be available from Revenue.ie

VAT Rates and their application:

To contact the Customs Office, call 01 4269737

Update:
This thread has become a procession of "how much is this going to cost me" posts, which is not what it's for. The thread title says Read Post #1 for the rules. So, the next person that ignores this and asks how much Duty/VAT is to be applied on their purchase will be banned. The two most recent posts have been removed.

Questions not answered in post #1 only to be placed on this thread from now on.

The old thread can be found

here

. http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1179.html http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1179.html http://www.revenue.ie/en/vat/vat-rates/search-vat-rates/VAT-rates-database.aspx

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Comments

corkie

BlazingSaddler wrote: »

Hi all. I have just ordered 2 products on Amazon.co.uk. The total for the two in £ should have been 18.23, at gx rate 1.181 €21.53. One of the products was on a lightning deal (previously £27.99, down to £12.99) and the other product previously £7.49 down to £5.24 on a voucher deal). Anyway long and short of it when I checked out the order summary uses the old prices for Items total then Total less promotion £18.23 but charges import fee deposit of £7.45. Never had this issue before but never usually have discounted prices that previously would have been over £22. Am I due a refund on the import charge?

"Duties and taxes are calculated according to the shipping destination's customs regulations. Typically, this calculation is based on our product price and shipping,

before any promotions.

This allows destination country customs authorities to obtain the accurate import duties and taxes owed to them based on the actual value of the goods. For more information, go to About Customs, Duties & Taxes."

^^^ Import Fees Deposit

_Whimsical_

With Address Pal does the Address Pal delivery price generally get added to the total to assess VAT?

If I buy something for 20euro value can I expect that the amount calculated for VAT will be 20 + 6.50 = 26.50?

phester28

Sorry if this has been asked before.

from what I read here : https://www.moneyguideireland.com/irish-customs-duty-on-uk-online-purchases.html

computers are duty exempt. Some companies will drop the UK vat at point of sale like: https://www.compu-zone.ie/

but I dont know how laptop direct operate.

1. If a company charges Uk vat (in error) how would the buyer look to claim it back.

2. how wide are the courier handling charges DPD is only 6 euro but I have heard some are charging 20 euro to collect vat.

3. From what I read above (money guide link) most computer / laptops are duty exempt.

Can someone verify this is what happened in reality so that the only fees would be irish vat + admin charges.

QUestion is still valid but for laptop direct (even though its not clearly mentioned) on the .ie vat is charged at 23% so they are charging irish vat.

whiterebel

I think its one company I’d stay away from. This is a sample of the threads I’ve seen about laptopsdirect.......https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058147650

Computers are zero rated. Couriers go from €3.50-€18.50

phester28

Ya I've had multiple good purchases from them, the no key 4 stuck just wants money back and does not want a repair. They may be more to this. I would expect laptops direct to be on a par with currys for frustrating customer experience as its their model.

But if you are forearmed with the proper facts and ask the right questions (as long as you can get through to someone) you will be fine.

[Deleted User]

Shouldn't all UK sellers be removing UK VAT for European buyers at the point of ordering - on basis that they are not obliged to charge VAT when exporting?

Seems to be hit and miss on who does it.
Had to pay UPS almost €40 today. Made up of Irish VAT (€21.19) and a handling fee (€18.45) - item ordered from London and it looks like UK VAT was already included in the price I paid.

whiterebel

No obligation on them to do so. Most don’t seem to understand there should be no VAT on exports.

phester28

But if its not due how do you "not pay it", or claim it back. If we can legitimately claim it back of HM tax office then. I'm sure a few hundred claims would peak their interest

VG31

I was looking at a UK site and they didn't take VAT off when sending to Irish/EU addreses. There was no breakdown of VAT at all at the checkout. After searching through the site, there was a notice buried in the FAQs that said they do take off VAT for non-UK buyers but they charge a 20% international handling fee. What a scam...

ohnonotgmail

phester28 wrote: »

But if its not due how do you "not pay it", or claim it back. If we can legitimately claim it back of HM tax office then. I'm sure a few hundred claims would peak their interest

Businesses can, consumers cant.

TheMilkyPirate

My parcel is stuck in Athlone mail centre for a week now Courier says customs are waiting on paperwork and to contact the sender? I presume it's to do with VAT and import charges can I contact the mail centre directly?

[Deleted User]

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Shouldn't all UK sellers be removing UK VAT for European buyers at the point of ordering - on basis that they are not obliged to charge VAT when exporting?

Seems to be hit and miss on who does it.
Had to pay UPS almost €40 today. Made up of Irish VAT (€21.19) and a handling fee (€18.45) - item ordered from London and it looks like UK VAT was already included in the price I paid.

In response to an email I sent, the seller has confirmed that no UK VAT was levied:

“We didn't charge UK VAT on this order, we have been charging the VAT rate of your country, sending the funds to your country, for the last 12 months, in preparation for Brexit.

I have attached the invoice to this message, which shows the IE VAT Registration number to confirm this was IE VAT.

If you've paid VAT again, you should try to claim this back from your customs officials, as they've already received that payment from us.“

So has anyone been successful in getting a refund from UPS?

Tij da feen

I ordered from a shop based in Scotland. They had accidentally not marked the package as Delivery Duties Paid so DHL sent me a 200 quid bill. I asked the shop about this and they said to pay the duties and they'll refund me the value of it - grand, so I paid the duties.

The shop then came back to me shortly after and actually told me to refuse delivery from DHL so that it will go back to them, and they'll send it again and mark it correctly. So I called DHL Customer Service to stop the in transit package and return to sender, they advised a different department would handle the refund. Got transferred to the Import Department, who transferred me again to another department, who then told me they can't refund and I need to claim it back of Revenue (note this was only about 2 hours after paying the charges). After looking into this after the call, Revenue advises that it's the courier that handles this.

I don't really want to spend another hour on the phone to DHL to get bounced around. Does anyone know who I should actually be talking to? Or should I just dispute the customs payment to DHL with PayPal for a package I've never received?

LenWoods

Can any of you guys help me to understand this one,
I've bought a 1:64 scale model truck and trailer for my son,

Shipping via AddressPal from the UK,
So AddressPal have charged the 6.50 euro fee as normal,
Then I got this bill, I've had a few of these recently which usually have a percentage of the overall cost being the revenue import taxes,
But this one only has VAT and and an anPost fee which I find strange; what exactly is the bill for if there's no revenue to be paid are they just being pure Karen's ?

pnz5Hggoj

sniper_samurai

LenWoods wrote: »

Can any of you guys help me to understand this one,
I've bought a 1:64 scale model truck and trailer for my son,

Shipping via AddressPal from the UK,
So AddressPal have charged the 6.50 euro fee as normal,
Then I got this bill, I've had a few of these recently which usually have a percentage of the overall cost being the revenue import taxes,
But this one only has VAT and and an anPost fee which I find strange; what exactly is the bill for if there's no revenue to be paid are they just being pure Karen's ?

That's normal. VAT is charged on the item price + Address Pal fee and as it is under €150 is not liable for any charges other than the carriers handling fee.

LenWoods

sniper_samurai wrote: »

That's normal. VAT is charged on the item price + Address Pal fee and as it is under €150 is not liable for any charges other than the carriers handling fee.

Thanks,
I'm not enjoying online purchases anymore,
Been charged around 56 euro in revenue this month on items which were slightly above 20 euro in value,
Mainly 1:64 scale model cars, and modification parts

Mod - Please don't post irrelevant pictures on threads. Read the first post on this thread to understand possible charges on imports from outside the EU

ebayissues

At what VAT rate would a business have to pay when ordering plumbing supplies made from the UK?

My builder reckons he will pay 13.5% vs 22% which I'll pay.

The_Conductor

ebayissues wrote: »

At what VAT rate would a business have to pay when ordering plumbing supplies made from the UK?

My builder reckons he will pay 13.5% vs 22% which I'll pay.

Your builder is paying for a good- you are paying for a service (unless you'd like to install them yourself that is........)

ebayissues

The_Conductor wrote: »

Your builder is paying for a good- you are paying for a service (unless you'd like to install them yourself that is........)

He'll install it.

The_Conductor

ebayissues wrote: »

He'll install it.

Exactly- he isn't selling you the part separately- he is selling you his expertise and is sourcing the part.........

I get it- you're trying to pay for the part separately- if you're getting a plumber to get the part and install it- it doesn't get broken into multiple VAT rates (the poor plumber would get an aneurysm trying to make his VAT return to Revenue if he had to account for multiple different rates).

The plumber can reclaim the VAT on the part when he buys it- however, he has to charge you the full whack, and indeed, has to account for the full whack to Revenue- he isn't pocketing the difference between the 13,5% and the 23%- Revenue are- not your plumber..........

sbkenn

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Shouldn't all UK sellers be removing UK VAT for European buyers at the point of ordering - on basis that they are not obliged to charge VAT when exporting?

Seems to be hit and miss on who does it.
Had to pay UPS almost €40 today. Made up of Irish VAT (€21.19) and a handling fee (€18.45) - item ordered from London and it looks like UK VAT was already included in the price I paid.

A supplier that I bought from says that if THEY organise shipping, they charge VAT but refund it when you send them confirmation of import to your country. If you organise shipping, it is up to you to (try to) reclaim VAT from HM gov't. Couriers insist that you are required to provide your PPS number and nominate a customs clearance agent (shipper may handle that) if importing as an individual.

whiterebel

See the 1st post in this thread.

JimmyCorkhill

Looking to order something from New Balance website - value is around 180 euros.

How do I figure out where the item is being delivered from etc. to understand if I am likely to get hit for additional costs.

It is the nbshoesireland website but not sure if that means much.

Thanks

The_Conductor

JimmyCorkhill wrote: »

Looking to order something from New Balance website - value is around 180 euros.

How do I figure out where the item is being delivered from etc. to understand if I am likely to get hit for additional costs.

It is the nbshoesireland website but not sure if that means much.

Thanks

Where is it being shipped from- that is the knux of the matter.
If it is coming from the UK- you pay VAT once you hit 22 Euro, and Customs and Excise once you hit 148 Euro (incl. of shipping)

If you can find a German/French/Italian/Spanish (anywhere other than the UK) to order what you're looking for- you need to be looking at those arrangements, as its a nightmare trying to navigate buying from the UK at the moment...........

Ogham

sniper_samurai wrote: »

It is, this is the real one.

https://www.newbalance.ie/

And you will pay VAT and duty on delivery with them.
https://www.newbalance.ie/en/terms.html

LenWoods

The_Conductor wrote: »

Where is it being shipped from- that is the knux of the matter.
If it is coming from the UK- you pay VAT once you hit 22 Euro, and Customs and Excise once you hit 148 Euro (incl. of shipping)

If you can find a German/French/Italian/Spanish (anywhere other than the UK) to order what you're looking for- you need to be looking at those arrangements, as its a nightmare trying to navigate buying from the UK at the moment...........

I would like to add to this to say;
AddressPal pal can work to your advantage by reducing the amount of import taxes as the total to be paid is based on the overall value including the shipping costs,
As result the cost of shipping to AddressPal will be cheaper than shipping directly which may help save a few euro's on the import tax bill,
I've been charged alot of times recently for model cars, average bill of 12 euro for items which were under 30 euro including shipping and AddressPal fee,
Thankfully I've now found a good seller from Spain and another in France whom can ship to my home for less than I can send a parcel within Ireland myself.
Should save me a fortune, thought I'd share my findings from recent experience.

shot2go

I used address pal 3 times in the last 2 weeks buying from amazon. The first item I paid nothing for at all but amazon put the value down as £24 so I was charged over €8 from an post on top of address pal fees. The second item i paid £13 for and was again charged €8. The third item was again free but I was charged €10.
Is there anyway to dispute these charges or is it based on the value of the item not the price I paid?

AngryLips

Not sure if anyone can give me some advice on this, I am being given a laptop by a relative in USA as a gift. It's a Surface Pro 3 i7, so it's probably around four years old - it's second hand but unused and still boxed. Am happy to pay whatever the import fees are so that it gets to me, but I was wondering if any of you know what I should be mindful of in advance of having it shipped over? My main concerns are:
- avoiding a shipping service that will apply fees as if it was a purchased product instead of gifted item.
- dilemma on whether to send to AddressPal redirect address stateside or direct to my Irish address via USPS or some other service.
- how to calculate the value of the gift and avoid a shipping service that will assign their own arbitary value that differs significantly from what I think it's worth (looking at similar second hand devices, I would guess it is worth USD400-500).
- unsure about which shipping service to use and do I have any comeback if they apply the wrong calculations...

whiterebel

AngryLips wrote: »

Not sure if anyone can give me some advice on this, I am being given a laptop by a relative in USA as a gift. It's a Surface Pro 3 i7, so it's probably around four years old - it's second hand but unused and still boxed. Am happy to pay whatever the import fees are so that it gets to me, but I was wondering if any of you know what I should be mindful of in advance of having it shipped over? My main concerns are:
- avoiding a shipping service that will apply fees as if it was a purchased product instead of gifted item.
- dilemma on whether to send to AddressPal redirect address stateside or direct to my Irish address via USPS or some other service.
- how to calculate the value of the gift and avoid a shipping service that will assign their own arbitary value that differs significantly from what I think it's worth (looking at similar second hand devices, I would guess it is worth USD400-500).
- unsure about which shipping service to use and do I have any comeback if they apply the wrong calculations...

First post in the thread addresses gifts. Max value €45. After this, you're in the lap of the gods. If they find ones on a google search for $7-800, they may use that evaluation. They might decide its valued at $100. No way of telling with second hand really, although boxed and unused is going to push the value up. You can ask the sender to put a value on it of $4-500, no guarantee that they'll accept it. When they get the value there probably won't be much point disputing it. All couriers/An Post have their own drawbacks. They will also take into account the freight cost for VAT, so cheapest is better on that score.

AngryLips

whiterebel wrote: »

All couriers/An Post have their own drawbacks.

Thanks, that's a little frustrating that the valuation would be so unpredictable. I'm inclined to just go with insured post, but is there any shipping service in particular that you would recommend for someone in my situation? Speed is not important once it arrives safely and in a straightforward fashion.