VAT for private sellers sending goods to non EU countries

[steveberg777]

I recently cancelled and order from a buyer from Romania because EBAY charged VAT on his purchase. He insisted he would be have been paying tax and customs when he received the goods so he saw no reason why he should pay tax via eBay also. The goods were 2nd hand and I'm a private seller who is not selling to the level of a business so I'm nowhere near to any kind of tax threshold.

[sml192]

Ebay are responsible for collecting EU VAT on all items sent to the EU with a value up to 150 euros (excluding items that are zero rated or exempt).   For  items over 150 euros Import VAT and Duty (where applicable) is collected by the carrier on import.   

It applies to all sellers, private as well as business, and to all goods, secondhand as well as new. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/selling/vat-obligations-uk-eu?id=4650

When eBay will collect and remit EU VAT

1. eBay is obliged to collect VAT on goods sold through eBay to EU customers in the following circumstances:
   • Goods imported into the EU with a parcel value of up to EUR 150. For shipments into France, eBay collects VAT on all goods, regardless of parcel value. Note that there is no longer a VAT exemption for small consignments up to EUR 22
   • Goods of any value sold by a non-EU seller and shipped from inventory stored in the EU. Sellers may still have EU VAT obligations and should consult their tax advisors for further information
   • Digital goods or eservices of any value sold through eBay to EU customers.
2. If an order fits any of these criteria, neither sellers nor carriers should collect VAT from buyers in the EU. eBay will collect the VAT from the buyer based on the country of delivery and remit it to the responsible tax authorities.
3. If a buyer receives a refund for a cancelled order or a return, eBay will refund the VAT to the buyer in cases where eBay collected the VAT on the original transaction.
4. eBay is obligated to collect VAT on the full value of the transaction including shipping costs, as the shipping costs are considered part of the total purchase. The VAT on the shipping charges apply at the same rate as the item(s) in the shipment.
5. eBay will not collect VAT if:
   • Consignment values are above EUR 150 (except for deliveries to France, see table below). In practise, the recipient pays import VAT to the shipping agent as part of clearing the package through customs

[papso22]

It seems that neither you nor your  buyer checked how import VAT is dealt with by ebay.

[crg_music]

When you purchase postage you can input ebays ioss number meaning that the customs will know that the vat has already been paid and none will be due on delivery. This has to be done when ordering online, assumably the post office can do so also? it has to be done electronically and entered where it asks for it, not just written on the parcel. Parcel2go definitely do it also.

Ebays number is : IM2760000742

[*vyolla*]

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@steveberg777 wrote:

The goods were 2nd hand and I'm a private seller who is not selling to the level of a business so I'm nowhere near to any kind of tax threshold.

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Import taxes are set by each country's tax body, and are nothing to do with a sellers personal tax threshold.

It's how trade works - if you import another item from another country there'll be import tariffs payable.

If you import an item from Romania you'll pay an extra 20% because that's what HMRC have set our rate at.

If you're in Romania and buy something from a non EU country (like the UK) you'll pay an extra 19%, because that's what their government have set their rate at. 

For items under £135 in value, eBay collect the import VAT from the buyer and pass it on to their tax office, so the buyer wouldn't be paying again their end. 

[steveberg777]

So it seems this customer will pay 3 taxes. 1 to ebay who send it on (to who?) and 2 to the Romanian gvt (import duty + vat).

No wonder he cancelled his order. 

[papso22]

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@steveberg777 wrote:

So it seems this customer will pay 3 taxes. 1 to ebay who send it on (to who?) and 2 to the Romanian gvt (import duty + vat).

No wonder he cancelled his order. 

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Did you actually read the responses?  Done properly the buyer pays one lot of taxes, to ebay, who sends it to the Romanian government. 

Ebay doesn't handle duties so they might be payable separately at import by the buyer.

[steveberg777]

Thanks. I never knew there was such thing as an IOSS number, that's new to me. I don't think the customer knew this either. 

[*vyolla*]

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@steveberg777 wrote:

So it seems this customer will pay 3 taxes. 1 to ebay who send it on (to who?) and 2 to the Romanian gvt (import duty + vat).

No wonder he cancelled his order. 

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No, he'll pay one import tax fee - in this particular case it will be 19% if the item is below £135 in value.

eBay collect the fee at checkout and pass it on to the buyers government.

When you buy a postage label via eBay then there's a code in the address details that indicates that the fee has already been paid upfront. If you don't buy your postage labels via eBay ands you're sending your items out via your local Post Office then they can give you an IOSS sticker which indicates that the fee has been paid. 

[sml192]

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@*vyolla* wrote:

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@steveberg777 wrote:

So it seems this customer will pay 3 taxes. 1 to ebay who send it on (to who?) and 2 to the Romanian gvt (import duty + vat).

No wonder he cancelled his order. 

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No, he'll pay one import tax fee - in this particular case it will be 19% if the item is below £135 in value.

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The threshold for items sent to the EU is 150 euros (currently about £125.31) not £135.

[sml192]

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@steveberg777 wrote:

So it seems this customer will pay 3 taxes. 1 to ebay who send it on (to who?) and 2 to the Romanian gvt (import duty + vat).

No wonder he cancelled his order. 

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No, the buyer will either be charged Supply VAT by eBay at checkout (items up to 150 euros) or Import VAT and Import Duty by the carrier on delivery (items over 150 euros).