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Buying and Selling models to/from Europe


creweboy
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Afternoon all, 

I thought that I should inform you of my latest experience.  I had ordered a locomotive from MBW Spur 0 GmbH before the referendum, so the information on their database was "in EU".  So I received an invoice by e-mail including German VAT.  An e-mail (in German) to MBW generated a revised invoice, without German VAT but obviously increased delivery costs.  A trip was made to my building society to pay by SEPA Transfer (which I would have done anyway).

My next contact was from DHL, the parcel part of Deutsche Post.  The caller was in England and  explained  that I would need to pay British VAT and customs duty.  I explained about Community Code 9503003000 (is that the right number?) and he accepted it was model railway equipment and therefore zero duty.

The parcel then reached the local hub and I was called again to arrange payment of VAT and an import charge (of about £11-00).  DHL invoiced by e-mail, I paid by credit card and the parcel was delivered this morning.

So, far more stages than before Brexit but exemplary service from MBW and DHL.  MBW are a small organisation and DHL a large carrier but customer care is obviously high on their agenda.  Knowledge of the Community Code ensured that I wasn't charged customs duty.  I was also grateful to deal with a reputable carrier and not a "bottom fisher" like Hermes.

Bill

 

 

 

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The Marklin-Trix website has resumed shipping to the UK. Sent DHL for 9.90 euros which is slightly less than the pre-brexit rate!

I think they have taken out a UK VAT registration number. GB sales now falls into the EU "no additional custom charges" and the same shipping rate as to somewhere like France. The price you pay is that shown on the website. ( I stand to be corrected on that as I haven't ordered from them since brexit)

I had another delivery from a German model shop last week on which no German MwSt was levied and none added by UK customs & excise because the total, including shipping, was less that £135 GBP. That's 19% cheaper than when VAT was being levied at the point of sale for all EU sales.

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14 minutes ago, WM183 said:

I wish it was the same for buying from the UK. I've given up on it for now. Its simply too expensive. 

I think it depends a lot on who you’re buying from. Certainly second hand stuff has become more expensive. If the VAT is dealt with properly it’s not too bad providing you don’t get stung by shipping costs. 

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37 minutes ago, LimboBrit said:

I think it depends a lot on who you’re buying from. Certainly second hand stuff has become more expensive. If the VAT is dealt with properly it’s not too bad providing you don’t get stung by shipping costs. 

 

I agree with you, most European countries have similar VAT rates I believe, so it's really down to the handling fee and any additional postage costs. If the European country has a lower one then you are probably going to cover the extra costs anyway I would have thought. Purchases from Individuals on the likes of Ebay will certainly have gone up a lot though as there's no VAT for the seller to take off 

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Not railway stuff, as I will get that held at a German address until I can arrange for collection, but in terms of general Christmas post, I find that parcels are arriving in the UK without any demands for extra payment and with no checks as to value.

Bernard 

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Got a Hush Hush coming over from the UK to Ireland from Cornwall.

 

The Model Shop in question have used the wrong Tariff code which advises the courier to Apply duty. not great.

 

Trying to sort this out.

 

Conclusion Make sure to give UK companies the correct Tariff code as they don't seem to have a handle on this even a year later.

 

I may end up clearing this myself yet, don't fancy spending another 4.7% of top of the price.

 

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12 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

Got a Hush Hush coming over from the UK to Ireland from Cornwall.

 

The Model Shop in question have used the wrong Tariff code which advises the courier to Apply duty. not great.

 

Trying to sort this out.

 

Conclusion Make sure to give UK companies the correct Tariff code as they don't seem to have a handle on this even a year later.

 

I may end up clearing this myself yet, don't fancy spending another 4.7% of top of the price.

 

I had the same problem with a retailer in Cornwall. I also pointed out their mistake but ended up having to pay import duty anyway. Good luck

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15 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Not railway stuff, as I will get that held at a German address until I can arrange for collection, but in terms of general Christmas post, I find that parcels are arriving in the UK without any demands for extra payment and with no checks as to value.

Bernard 

 

Is this for parcels with goods over £135 Bernard or just those below that? 

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47 minutes ago, SimonBoulton said:

 

Is this for parcels with goods over £135 Bernard or just those below that? 

I couldn't possibly comment.:D 

The new times do seem to be rather like the old times and some people have reverted to the old ways.

I did suggest to a friend in France that the usual case of wine might not be a good idea.:no:

Bernard

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20 hours ago, LimboBrit said:

I think it depends a lot on who you’re buying from. Certainly second hand stuff has become more expensive. If the VAT is dealt with properly it’s not too bad providing you don’t get stung by shipping costs. 

It seems most sellers have 0 desire to make things easier for EU customers, sadly. 

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31 minutes ago, WM183 said:

It seems most sellers have 0 desire to make things easier for EU customers, sadly. 

For small suppliers of niche products that could be but my experience with the larger suppliers is not too bad just don't talk to me about shipping times using Royal Mail and their partner PostNL.

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1 hour ago, LimboBrit said:

For small suppliers of niche products that could be but my experience with the larger suppliers is not too bad just don't talk to me about shipping times using Royal Mail and their partner PostNL.

Oh my word post NL suuuuucks. 

 

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On 10/12/2021 at 14:27, bbishop said:

Afternoon all, 

I thought that I should inform you of my latest experience.  I had ordered a locomotive from MBW Spur 0 GmbH before the referendum, so the information on their database was "in EU".  So I received an invoice by e-mail including German VAT.  An e-mail (in German) to MBW generated a revised invoice, without German VAT but obviously increased delivery costs.  A trip was made to my building society to pay by SEPA Transfer (which I would have done anyway).

My next contact was from DHL, the parcel part of Deutsche Post.  The caller was in England and  explained  that I would need to pay British VAT and customs duty.  I explained about Community Code 9503003000 (is that the right number?) and he accepted it was model railway equipment and therefore zero duty.

The parcel then reached the local hub and I was called again to arrange payment of VAT and an import charge (of about £11-00).  DHL invoiced by e-mail, I paid by credit card and the parcel was delivered this morning.

So, far more stages than before Brexit but exemplary service from MBW and DHL.  MBW are a small organisation and DHL a large carrier but customer care is obviously high on their agenda.  Knowledge of the Community Code ensured that I wasn't charged customs duty.  I was also grateful to deal with a reputable carrier and not a "bottom fisher" like Hermes.

Bill

 

 

 

 

Bill,

 

For future reference in case you need to quote to officaldom again it's a "Commodity" code rather than Community code.

 

ATB!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi, I live in Spain and now have to pay duty on my modeling bits. The duty can be as much as the ítem. Apparently everything was oven ready. I know of five businesses that have gone under as a direct  result of this folly

John lewsey 

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Coal Tank said:

Hi, I live in Spain and now have to pay duty on my modeling bits. The duty can be as much as the ítem. Apparently everything was oven ready. I know of five businesses that have gone under as a direct  result of this folly

John lewsey 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm in a some you win some you lose scenario with Correos/ADT Postales/DHL etc etc.

Try and buy as much as you can from Hattons or anyone else using their system if possible, and if all else fails try the cheap Ryanair flight and empty suitcase method!

 

Mike.

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Christmas exchange of presents has highlighted a few anomalies 

 

Items sent to Poland ( 3 so far, a picture frame, kids T shirts and kids socks) have all attracted a 8.50 PLN charge from Poczta Polska.

 

It seems too much of a coincidence that all three attract the same amount of import VAT . Something odd going on I thinks

 

Items coming this way have got through scot free, although they were posted on 11th Dec and arrived on Friday. 

Interestingly, there was no customs label on the inbound parcel and it got through. 

 

Inconsistent is the best way to describe it and as such doing any kind of business must be fraught with uncertainty still.

 

No wonder many are deciding not to bother

 

Andy

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9 hours ago, SM42 said:

Christmas exchange of presents has highlighted a few anomalies 

 

Items sent to Poland ( 3 so far, a picture frame, kids T shirts and kids socks) have all attracted a 8.50 PLN charge from Poczta Polska.

 

It seems too much of a coincidence that all three attract the same amount of import VAT . Something odd going on I thinks


Any such charge is normally made up of :

 

A) A fixed administration charge to cover the customs clearance paperwork (and card processing fees).

2) Import duty as required, a percentage of the goods.

3) VAT/IVA/GST at the appropriate percentage on the combined goods cost, transit costs and duty value.

 

Sounds to me like your parcels have had the administrative part done, which have identified the consignments as zero rate duty and VAT…

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5 minutes ago, Jonboy said:


Any such charge is normally made up of :

 

A) A fixed administration charge to cover the customs clearance paperwork (and card processing fees).

2) Import duty as required, a percentage of the goods.

3) VAT/IVA/GST at the appropriate percentage on the combined goods cost, transit costs and duty value.

 

Sounds to me like your parcels have had the administrative part done, which have identified the consignments as zero rate duty and VAT…

 

But who is charging in this case?

 

The parcels were sent with customs declarations attached.  The admin had been done, or had it?

 

Is the charge for the export, the import or some customs service fee to release it for delivery?

 

It would be interesting to try  and get to the bottom of it. 

I suspect however, that my family are loathe to poke the hornet's nest. 

 

Needless to say I am left to try and answer such questions from them when I don't have to clue as to who is charging who for what and all I can say is welcome to the brave new world of post brexit import and export.

 

Andy

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It is an administrative charge for the import paperwork. Someone at the Polish  customs office (or their post office if approved) has to examine the parcel, declaration and contents and decide if it needs duty and or VAT paying and enter the appropriate details into their systems.
 

This is a charge for that time and the process of collecting the payment and is levied by the Polish post office, who may pay some of it to the customs office if their officers where involved.

 

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43 minutes ago, Jonboy said:

It is an administrative charge for the import paperwork. Someone at the Polish  customs office (or their post office if approved) has to examine the parcel, declaration and contents and decide if it needs duty and or VAT paying and enter the appropriate details into their systems.
 

This is a charge for that time and the process of collecting the payment and is levied by the Polish post office, who may pay some of it to the customs office if their officers where involved.

 

 

Looks like they've got a bit more organised now  and no more free rides for anything we send :(

 

We can but hope

 

Andy

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My latest order arrived from Germany today.

Dispatched on the 4th and much delayed in transit somewhere (should have been 48 hours).

 

Ordered online.

German VAT was taken off the purchase price automatically, when I input my delivery address in the UK.

Total value inc. p&p (ex-VAT) = approx. €80

Pssss !  The "well known" parcel courier company, didn't levy any charges and no UK VAT added.

Result !

 

This is the second time I've had this.

Different retailer and different courier company this time.

 

 

 

.

.

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Does anyone know how long it is taking parcels to clear customs coming into the country from the EU (Denmark to be precise)?

 

I have had a parcel (of Lego as it happens!) that was ordered on the 1st of Jan, on the 3rd of Jan it was "Awaiting Customs Clearance" and on the 4th of January it was "Order information has been transmitted to DPD" since when nothing, not a thing and yet was supposed to be delivered in three to four business days.

 

What's going on?

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