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53 minutes ago, Gareth Collier said:

Very similar to the above I have just received this from Shapeways:

shapeways.PNG.9d9ade927802f20bc3b9737001ac5cb1.PNG

 

 

 

Yes that is similar to the email that I recieved, the invoice headings are the same but there the amount charged against VAT is 0.00   The Post Brexit Legislation states that they only collect VAT through the carrier when the goods are valued over £135. Anything less than £135 has to be collected and charged at the point of sale, but they have not charged me anything.  It would appear that the message we both got was introduced when the Brexit  Transition period was commenced, and they have not yet changed the information being given to UK customers. Either that, or they don't have a clue what they are doing.

 

 

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Have you ever tried reading and making sense of a VAT notice? Don't bother ringing them either as the help desk operator will just refer you back to the same VAT notice or one that is so similar you won't be able to tell the difference.

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3 hours ago, simonmcp said:

Have you ever tried reading and making sense of a VAT notice? Don't bother ringing them either as the help desk operator will just refer you back to the same VAT notice or one that is so similar you won't be able to tell the difference.

 

I am sure you are correct. The interesting bit will come if they try to make me pay VAT in the UK, which is against the rules, and I become tempted to report them to the HMRC.

 

 

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This evening I have received an email from UPS to say that my Shapeways models have been shipped and will be with me on Friday, and so far no request for any VAT.

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I've  only ever ordered one thing from Shapeways and am very happy with the quality and the price seemed fair.  There are quite a few more things I would have ordered.  However they're not cheap even before you add excessive P&P taxes etc.

 

There's clearly a business opportunity there for somebody who has the equipment and know-how - I have neither and I'm not looking to go into business anyway.  I know there are several on this site who could do it, but of course they might not have the time or inclination either.  I believe the cost of such a service will come down as the technology advances, and a new entrant to the market will appear in due course.

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18 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

This evening I have received an email from UPS to say that my Shapeways models have been shipped and will be with me on Friday, and so far no request for any VAT.

 

Now been put back to Monday  !! Still no request forany VAT.

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1 hour ago, Gareth Collier said:

From what I can gather UPS won't ask you for the VAT as it isn't their job to collect it. It is the responsibility of Shapeways who appear to have decided not to bother and think UPS are going to do it.

 

I have almost come to that conclusion as well, especially as UPS will be aiding an unlawful procedure if they did seek to collect it.

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2 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

There's clearly a business opportunity there for somebody who has the equipment and know-how - I have neither and I'm not looking to go into business anyway.  I know there are several on this site who could do it, but of course they might not have the time or inclination either.  I believe the cost of such a service will come down as the technology advances, and a new entrant to the market will appear in due course.

 

https://www.cwrailways.com

 

There may be others, this is the one I knew about.

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The Carrier, whomsoever that may be, can and frequently do, ask for the import duty which is quite separate from VAT. Unfortunately most carriers, ie Royal Mail, UPS, FedEx etc don't bother to check the status of the items they try and collect the duty for. Arguing with the delivery driver is a fruitless task as they are bound by their employer's instructions. I believe that it is as stated here, the responsibility of the seller to collect and show any VAT charged. I am pretty the that it is an offence to state a VAT exclusive price and then charge a VAT inclusive price, ie add the VAT, for any items sold within the UK to a non VAT registered person/company (in general that means an item that would only be sold to consumers and not businesses) but I don't know if there are any new rules/laws about imports from countries that charge VAT at source. It is a minefield of confusing and contradictory information and I am still trying to recover from reading HMRC's latest bulletin earlier today:wacko::blink:.

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11 hours ago, simonmcp said:

The Carrier, whomsoever that may be, can and frequently do, ask for the import duty which is quite separate from VAT. Unfortunately most carriers, ie Royal Mail, UPS, FedEx etc don't bother to check the status of the items they try and collect the duty for. Arguing with the delivery driver is a fruitless task as they are bound by their employer's instructions. I believe that it is as stated here, the responsibility of the seller to collect and show any VAT charged. I am pretty the that it is an offence to state a VAT exclusive price and then charge a VAT inclusive price, ie add the VAT, for any items sold within the UK to a non VAT registered person/company (in general that means an item that would only be sold to consumers and not businesses) but I don't know if there are any new rules/laws about imports from countries that charge VAT at source. It is a minefield of confusing and contradictory information and I am still trying to recover from reading HMRC's latest bulletin earlier today:wacko::blink:.

 

We have relatives in both the US and Australia, and on the rare number of occassions when import duty has been due, the carrier has always contacted us prior to delivery for payment. We have never been asked by the driver to pay on the doorstep.  There is a requirement to state the value of an item on the customs declaration prior to despatch, and any attempt to collect import duty on items valued at less than £135 would be unlawful, although there are some exclusions such as alcohol.

 

With regard to VAT, having read through quite a lot of Government information about sales from the EU to UK customers, I agree that it appears that sales to non registered UK customers must incude VAT at the point of sale, and not collected in the country of receipt.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Guy Rixon said:

Once in January 2021 and once in February 2021.

 

Thanks for that, I am assuming that will still be the case.

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On 15/03/2021 at 11:10, cypherman said:

Hi Johnster, I am sorry you cannot blame Brexit for the exorbitant postage fees. Nearly £15.00 for a package that should be only about £5.00 is not just down to Brexit.

Postage cost Probably includes the customs Processing. 10 is not too bad. I know a crowd doing it for 90!

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18 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

 

I have almost come to that conclusion as well, especially as UPS will be aiding an unlawful procedure if they did seek to collect it.

 

UPS can and do charge on delivery, if that's what the service it was sent with allows. (This happens regularly at work, delivery arrives from China requiring customs payment, Boss has naffed off somewhere and no one else can pay for it, so it's sent back to the depot...lather, rinse & repeat until finally paid).


Each courier will have a service where they will deliver stuff requiring collection of customs fees, and a service where this has already been paid/is not applicable. Generally referred to in courier jargon as DDU and DDP respectively. 

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1 hour ago, Quarryscapes said:

 

UPS can and do charge on delivery, if that's what the service it was sent with allows. (This happens regularly at work, delivery arrives from China requiring customs payment, Boss has naffed off somewhere and no one else can pay for it, so it's sent back to the depot...lather, rinse & repeat until finally paid).


Each courier will have a service where they will deliver stuff requiring collection of customs fees, and a service where this has already been paid/is not applicable. Generally referred to in courier jargon as DDU and DDP respectively. 

But we're not talking about customs fees here which as you correctly say are collected by the courier company. We are talking about the 20% VAT which the supplier is supposed to collect and Shapeways aren't. That has nothing to do with the courier companies.

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2 minutes ago, Quarryscapes said:

You may not be, I am, since they all get lumped together in practice and are charged by the courier co. That's how it has always worked, it just applies to more things now. 

Sorry, this chat has solely been about Shapeways not applying VAT since 1st Jan for private individuals, not about the collection of customs charges or items over £135  which basically has remained unchanged but if you want to widen the debate further that's fine but your initial reply didn't reflect what was being discussed at that point.

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3 hours ago, Quarryscapes said:

 

UPS can and do charge on delivery, if that's what the service it was sent with allows. (This happens regularly at work, delivery arrives from China requiring customs payment, Boss has naffed off somewhere and no one else can pay for it, so it's sent back to the depot...lather, rinse & repeat until finally paid).


Each courier will have a service where they will deliver stuff requiring collection of customs fees, and a service where this has already been paid/is not applicable. Generally referred to in courier jargon as DDU and DDP respectively. 

 

Your comments risk confusing the issue. I was not talking about large business consignments from China, but small private puchases worth less than £135 (including shipping) from EU countries, which are excempt from import duty (excluding alcohol & Tobacco).

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I have had packages from Japan using Royal Mail that I have had to pay import duty on. I got a letter saying it was outstanding, and had to pay on-line before it would be delivered. This was to work, rather than home; I have a suspicion they do not bother when it is to a domestic address.

 

 

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51 minutes ago, F2Andy said:

I have had packages from Japan using Royal Mail that I have had to pay import duty on. I got a letter saying it was outstanding, and had to pay on-line before it would be delivered. This was to work, rather than home; I have a suspicion they do not bother when it is to a domestic address.

 

 

 

It isn't a question of not bothering, there is no import duty for private purchases worth less than £135. The rules for commercial consignments are different

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