New 2021 UK VAT rules for orders under GBP135 and proper labelling of package???

[dhslk]

I ship frequently to the UK, but have not yet sold an ebay (marketplace) item to UK under GBP135 value in 2021 . I am worried/confused about what appears (or doesn't appear) on the actual parcel that I ship.

How in the world will Customs in UK be able to know that tax has already been paid on this end and who was the tax collector? Would we not need to add ebay's VAT tax number to the Customs form? Does ebay provide this number to you when you make the sale?

I use Canada Post EST Desktop to generate shipping labels/Customs forms. I don't see a way of adding a tax collected column (unless perhaps I can fill in a VAT tax number). I am in the process of registering to collect VAT for my own website, but don't have a VAT number myself yet to test this on.

In a nutshell, how do you properly fill in Customs form for under GBP135 orders to show that VAT was collected and by which VAT registrant?

(On a side note: on another thread, someone stated that ebay was charging VAT on SHIPPING!! It s my understanding, having read the UK HMRC website, that VAT is to be charged on the item value ONLY, which would mean that ebay is illegally collecting VAT on shipping. Can anyone confirm that they are, indeed, collecting VAT on shipping?)

[marnotom!]

This page from the UK government website is written for the importer's benefit, but it should be of some help to you:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users/notice-14...

In a nutshell, VAT is charged on shipping, and the exporter should ensure that there's a note on the customs form that specifies that import VAT has been paid.  I'm guessing that the postage app you are using may be able to generate that information if it's linked to eBay.

[dhslk]

That appears to completely contradict this HMRC page VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

"

The seller must work out the consignment value of the goods by deciding their ‘intrinsic value’, this is the price the goods were sold for, not including:

• any transport or insurance costs, unless they are included in the price and not separately shown on the invoice
• any other identifiable taxes and charges"

[marnotom!]

I take that to refer to sales where VAT is not charged at the time of purchase so as to ensure the buyer is not charged twice by customs for VAT on shipping.

The shipping calculator associated with this page charged VAT on shipping as well as the goods when I plugged in £100 for the value of merchandise and £25 for the shipping cost:

https://www.simplyduty.com/calculate-uk-import-duty-taxes/

[recped]

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@dhslk wrote:

That appears to completely contradict this HMRC page VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

"

The seller must work out the consignment value of the goods by deciding their ‘intrinsic value’, this is the price the goods were sold for, not including:

• any transport or insurance costs, unless they are included in the price and not separately shown on the invoice
• any other identifiable taxes and charges"

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Shipping is NOT included when calculating if the shipment is above or below the thresholds. When nit comes to charging VAT the entire amount is taxable.

This is the same way it worked under the previous system, shipments under £15 were tax free but if the item value is over £15 the entire amount including shipping (if known) was the tax base amount.

I have not had a UK shipment yet this year but I'm guessing it works the same way as it does for Australia/New Zealand, eBay includes their tax number in the buyer address they provide to sellers.

[luvmystuff2]

When you view Order Details on a sale, a code is provided (similar to that for sales to New Zealand). I just sold my first item to someone from UK since Jan. 1, and the code included with the sale is:

GB 365 6085 76 Code:Paid

This code has to be included on the (front of the) package you send. I tried to find this code on eBay tax policies for sellers, but I couldn't find it. I believe it's always the same code and doesn't change for each sale/customer. I know that at least for sales to New Zealand, it's always the same code, so I expect the same to be true for UK.

Hope this helps.