I was wondering if someone could clarify how the 20% VAT on imports to UK now works when purchasing items from Buyee - specifically items purchase from auctions on Yahoo Japan.
Before 2021, I would pay the final auction price + buyee fee + shipping. I would then pay 20% on this total once it had arrived in the UK + handling fees. My understanding is that, as of 2021, the international seller collects the 20% directly from the buyer (me); I have seen this on eBay where 20% is added to the final auction price and shipping when buying from an international seller. However, I recently won an item on auction an paid the final auction price + buyee fee + shipping but there was no mention of the 20% VAT. The item has now arrive at my location in the UK. I am very confused! Was the 20% included in the auction price (unlike eBay)? It cannot have been include in the Buyee fees as the math’s does not add up! Will I still have to pay this at some point??
Basically if you havn’t paid the VAT to Buyee the delivery company has to collect it. That usually means a notice through your door telling you to go online and pay (after which they will deliver).
If it’s been delivered, either the package has been mislabelled (which is technically your responsibility) or it has somehow slipped through the cracks.
From what I understand, its the responsibility of the online marketplace to collect the VAT (like ebay are doing) on goods under £135, so the delivery company should only be collecting duty on goods over that. I got a package around £80 from Japan the other day and it was just delivered as normal, no duty to be paid.
It was delivered to me today by royal mail. The package has the customs doc taped to the front. It clearly states the contents of the package and how much I paid for them (17500 Yen - the price of my winning bid)
Cheers. The cards cost ~£125 so it seems like a similar situation. I would have thought there would be some kind of check somewhere in the process that would confirm the seller had collected and paid the VAT though.