VAT question...

[auld argonian]

So, I made an enquiry to an ebay seller in the UK the other day...kilt unrelated thing: some shoes for my wife...his price stated that VAT was included so I asked if I, as a US citizen, would still be responsible for the VAT. I assume that the seller missed the point of my question as he responded something like, "...oh, don't worry, the VAT is already included in the price."

Seems to me that when I've looked at prices on UK based kilt shops websites, they make a point of mentioning that the merch they sell to the US is excluded from the VAT charge. So I was kinda wondering what the official deal is vis a vis the VAT. I'm guessing that the shoe seller might not have much experience with sales outside the UK so he might not think of taking the VAT off for a sale to the USA...but anybody got anymore intelligence on whether or not the VAT should be routinely taken off sales outside of the UK?

Best

AA

...incidentally, the shipping was going to be almost as expensive as the shoes, so I begged off on getting them. Yow!

[artificer]

In my experience, larger vendors will remove the VAT for overseas-non-EU sales. Some smaller ones either can't wrap their brain around the idea or are unwilling to remove the VAT (probably because it ends up in their pocket instead of in HM's tax collector's coffers.)

ith:

[auld argonian]

In my experience, larger vendors will remove the VAT for overseas-non-EU sales. Some smaller ones either can't wrap their brain around the idea or are unwilling to remove the VAT (probably because it ends up in their pocket instead of in HM's tax collector's coffers.)

ith:

I figgered that the small vendors don't do that many overseas transactions and might not want to bother with the paperwork...

Best

AA

[Paul Henry]

UK resident here!

Any business that has a turnover of £77,000 MUST register, some small businesses that have a lower turnover don't have to, but there are both advantages and disadvantages, ( it's a bit complicated but that is the gist)
If it was a ebay transaction, the seller might not have been registered for VAT, and in which case it would be illegal for him to charge the tax. My experience of dealing with the tax man and the VAT inspector , was that I did everything they told me, but I did it a little faster for the VAT man!

[Mainer In Exile]

A smaller vendor may not be required to be VAT-registered; if the annual turnover of VAT-taxable goods and services is less than £77,000, there is no requirement to register, and thus no requirment to collect and pay in VAT.

What I've seen in other hobbies is that in general, VAT-registered vendors in the UK are happy to deduct VAT when shipping to the US. Some may resist documenting VAT-exempt sales, and simply collect it and pay it in as normal--and that's not illegal; however, collecting it VAT and *not* paying it in could result in problems, if challenged.

Some vendors get around the issue by setting separate pricing structures for overseas sales. In such a case, the overseas price may be set exactly the same as a VAT-inclusive price, and that is not illegal, either. Some vendors do that in order to be able to afford offering reduced shipping rates to overseas addresses.

As you can see, this can be quite confusing to the overseas consumer. If I were to pursue the eBay sale in question, I would ask the seller if he is VAT-registered; and if he is, ask him to deduct VAT from the sale price before committing to the sale.

Allen