UK vat tax - seller from Poland

[ecu.centrum]

Hello everyone!

I'm selling car parts from Poland. After Brexit i sold few items to UK and in most of them weren't any extra tax added by eBay. In few eBay add extra tax to total amount but rest of them didn't add extra tax and took this tax from my amount. I don't understand that.

I have uploaded screen shots there: https://imgur.com/a/1lOSpNY

I have sent a lot of messages to eBay but they can't respond on my questions. 

I thought that customers from UK pay this tax in their country, not seller.

If i tot all fees - Polish tax 23 % + UK tax 20 % + 8% eBay fee + 3% Paypal fee it's 54%...

Thank you in advance for help. 

[twickenhamgames]

Hi,

This is because from the 1st of Jan, the UK government collects VAT tax (through eBay) when the item is sold, not when it neters the country. This is for items below £135 in price, items below this price will still be taxed when entering the UK.

Also the tax isn't taken from your amount: if you are selling something for £40, a buyer in the UK will see it listed for £48 (40x1.2=48). You will still receive the £40 minus other fees.

Hope this helps.

@ecu.centrum 

[ecu.centrum]

That's the point - eBay took it from my amount. For example yesterday i have sold item for 140 GBP, UK tax was 22.76, so i have received only 113.82, if you tot all it didn't give 140 GBP. I have contacted with customer and he sent me photo of my listing and it shows price 113.82, not 140.

[twickenhamgames]

That's really strange and honestly quite worrying in that case - eBay have made a right mess of the new rules to be honest. Contact them - through chat or have them call you.

[ecu.centrum]

I have tried, exchanged plenty of messasges and didn't get any meaningful answer. They said that i should contact with accounting office in Poland, but what can they do? Rdiculous.

[ecu.centrum]

I have uploaded some photos. Please check: https://imgur.com/a/1lOSpNY

[red_magpie]

It's explained - after a fashion - here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=12&pos=3&query=...

This raises more questions than it answers, but we have yet to hear from anyone who's got a sensble reply from eBay. I doubt whether eBay's call centre staff understand it any more than most buyers do.

We are getting reports that eBay has charged VAT on some items which are not subject to VAT, or on items listed as UK stock for which VAT has already been paid by the importer. So what happens then? Is it returned to the buyer, does eBay or HMRC just keep it?

In future, if buyers think that VAT has been wrongly added I'll advise them to ask HMRC, not to us or eBay. Unlike eBay. HMRC can't just ignore questions, or fob buyers off with meaningless answers.

[ecu.centrum]

I have uploaded some screen shots. Please check: https://imgur.com/a/1lOSpNY

[ecu.centrum]

I have uploaded some photos. Could you check? https://imgur.com/a/1lOSpNY
Did you see simillar problem earlier?

[rusticrye]

Just to add that this has nothing at all to do with Brexit.  It's due to a law that was passed back in 2016, for implementation by the UK and the whole of the EU on the 1st January 2021.  That the UK finally left the EU on that same date is just coincidence, and is what is confusing you and a few other folk.

As above, the whole of the EU was supposed to implement this same law on that date, but claimed they were unable to do so due to Covid. So implementation for Poland and all other EU countries has now been legally delayed (till 1st July if memory serves, but you can look this up for yourself).

@ecu.centrum 

@twickenhamgames 

[ecu.centrum]

You've right.
The main problem is that eBay took this tax from my amount, not add it to extra payment for customer.

[rusticrye]

I've not come across any other EU seller who has had this problem (and it would apply across the board if Ebay had made such a gross error with VAT calculation, not just to you), so are you sure this isn't down to you simply not understanding what you're seeing...? Unless you can supply a screen shot, that's the only possible conclusion I or anyone can draw.

@ecu.centrum

[ecu.centrum]

Can i add a screen shot there? Is it possible?

[ecu.centrum]

I have uploaded it, please check https://imgur.com/a/1lOSpNY