International Buyer requests I lie on customs to save him the taxes, now won't pick up item.

[tuckhouse2021]

I have an international buyer that over a couple of weeks acumulated a few sales that I was to combine shipping on and send via mail. Buyer was aware of taxes, Vat etc. due on the purchase as this was his second purchase and he had complained that he had to pay when the first lot was delivered to him. It is also mentioned on every ebay bid page. Buyer has over 3,000 feedbacks so he is more than aware of the tax and VAT rules.

On the second mailing I pointed out to him that there were no taxes ie VAT charged on the invoice and that I would not be adding the IOSS number etc as taxes were still due at his end. The buyer requested that I send as a gift and told me exactly what to write and said " that's the only way to get it without trouble". I replied that I would not lie on the customs forms and mailed the package as I had already printed the label and added the packing slips etc.. I was obligated to mail as he had paid and never in the conversation did he request to cancel the sale. I have an obligation to mail within a time frame, safely and with certain legal customs requirements. I did my part.

The package is sitting in the destination country awaiting pickup for five days now. My messages to the buyer letting him know that it is there, yeild no response.

If it is returned to me as I do check that box off on the form, I will be charged the extra shippping. Can he then claim back his purchase?  What do I do now? 

[tuckhouse2021]

Sorry The title should read International Buyer. I am the seller.

[marnotom!]

What was the destination country?  We in Canada have the eBay Money Back Guarantee which doesn't cover items that weren't released from customs due to a failure on the buyer's part to pay customs charges on an appropriately declared item.  If your buyer purchased your items through another eBay site, they may be subject to a different set of terms and conditions that may not (though not likely) have this sort of exclusion.

[recped]

You mention IOSS, what country was this sent to?

Assuming these sales were made on eBay, VAT for any IOSS country would have been collected in advance by eBay. You seem to be saying eBay did not collect taxes, is that correct?

[femmefan1946]

If he does not pick up the item, it will eventually be returned to you as UNDELIVERABLE.

And eBay does not require you to refund a single red cent when the parcel is Undeliverable.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...
or
https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...
 

You might politely mention that policy.

You might also let him know that you will voluntarily refund his purchase price (only) less shipping , packaging costs, and fees that you have incurred when you get the shipment back.

Which can take months since refused and undeliverable shipments are not a priority for any shipper.

Politely. -- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

[tuckhouse2021]

Yes that is correct.

If ebay does collect the VAT  it is clearly marked  on the invoices at my end and then I proceed with putting the IOSS number into the customs form and it gets embedded into the label. I also will print off the invoices and highlight where it says that the VAT has been collected by ebay etc. I put a copy inside the package for the buyer  and also on the outside of the package I put them in the stick on clear see through pouches that Canada post has and highlight it so that customs can see a copy of the invoices if they want and tape them down.

There are some countries in Europe that do not acknoweldge the IOSS info received by Canada Post or Shippo labels and still charge the buyers at the other end. The buyers end up paying double VAT and then have to appeal to eBay with paperwork to get their VAT back so it is still a difficult system.

On the first transaction package mailed, the buyer had to pay double VAT and talked about the paperwork and that he would get his money back from ebay. He complained bitterly and he agreed it was not my fault. I had done everything correctly in terms of the customs forms as I had record of a VAT payment so added the IOSS to the label.

So on the second mailing I told him I had no proof of a VAT payment as it was not on the invoices and asked if he had paid it as his end. He answered that he had phoned ebay and that they confirmed he had not paid the tax.  As it was not on any of the invoices I would not be adding the IOSS number to the label and gave him notice that he would probably be charged the VAT etc. on arrival. That way he would only be charged once  for VAT etc. with the payment owing on the arrival of the items to his country.

Then he wanted me to send it as a gift etc., and I wasn't  goiing to do that. Clearly he is avoiding the taxes and it is wrong that I should be asked to do that. The value is considerable so they would not remotely look like a gift with a vaule of 19.95 as he suggested. However he had paid 600.00 for the items with no mention of a cancellation and I had to mail as I waited almost to the end of my mailing window or I would get demerits from eBay for not mailing in time etc., So there it sits awaiting pickup. 

[recped]

I asked ON E question and instead of answering just wrote a bunch of irrelevant stuff.

I'll ask one more time, what country did you ship to?

FYI - The low value / gift exemption no longer exists in the EU, VAT applies to any shipment valued at more than $0.00.

For EU countries eBay only collects VAT in advance if the value is UNDER 150 Euro, shipments that exceed this value have VAT collrected at time of import.

[tuckhouse2021]

The country was Germany.

[tuckhouse2021]

-In response to-For EU countries eBay only collects VAT in advance if the value is UNDER 150 Euro, shipments that exceed this value have VAT collrected at time of import.

Yes but many buyers cannot combine the purchases or orders in the shopping cart into one order and request an invoice for combined shipping. The system does not work for those using phones and ipads and demands a series of individual orders. Auction wins and buy it nows have to be separate also.

They are charged the VAT on each order and again on the shipment as a whole.

That is not the issue here.

[femmefan1946]

In 20/20 hindsight.

"I regret you are not happy with our transaction. I am willing to cancel it if you prefer"  might have been a wiser response .

And on the third hand, his demand for an incorrect customs declaration may work in your favour, since buyers are not allowed to demand what is not in the listing, which should include fiddling with duty and taxes.

I'd suggest that you contact eBay through their reps assigned to social media.

Your initial post is clear but I would also suggest using more breaks. I find that making each sentence a separate line is easier to read on a screen.


https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/


https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.


The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.
 

[tuckhouse2021]

Many thanks to all for your input and suggestions. It was all very helpful and much appreciated. The package has been picked up in the detination country.