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Buying from the EU


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Hi I have a quick question, As an ex-pat living in the EU, my hobby costs have exploded after Brexit. I recentl bought an item that cost  £14 that cost me an extra £22 in import duties and daylight robbery  administration. As you are based in Ireland. can I buy your products directly from you as an EU cpompany without paying extra import duties?

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1 hour ago, Accurascale Fran said:

You can order from us and it can be distributed from Dublin

 

Hi Fran,

 

Just for clarity, will that apply to all orders from EU customers? I have a 'Scottish' Class 37 on order and have been wondering if there will be extra costs when it gets delivered to me in Germany.

 

Regards,

David

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5 minutes ago, Kylestrome said:

 

Hi Fran,

 

Just for clarity, will that apply to all orders from EU customers? I have a 'Scottish' Class 37 on order and have been wondering if there will be extra costs when it gets delivered to me in Germany.

 

Regards,

David

 

Hi David,

 

We encourage it for all customers wanting to buy in stock items we have as some is in Ireland, and some is in the UK only. For all pre-orders there is no need to contact us as we have your data and can plan ahead.

 

Cheers!

 

Fran

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Ordered and received items to Ireland from Accurascale in the UK with no extra charges - in 2021. It was slow initially for everyone but only took 6 days which is about right

Edited by LaGrange
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As a resident of France I also suffered this problem. However, Hattons have registered for VAT in France and consequently they charge UK VAT, label the packaging accordingly and nothing gets charged to the customer in the EU when it is delivered. I have received several orders from Hattons on this basis without problem. For this reason I have pre-ordered my Accurascale Manor from Hattons.

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Hi JST,

 

As above, you can also order direct, and Accurascale will ship directly from our EU warehouses, without any extra worries about VAT or shipping / customs. 

Edited by McC
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1 hour ago, McC said:

Hi JST,

 

As above, you can also order direct, and Accurascale will ship directly from our EU warehouses, without any extra worries about VAT or shipping / customs. 


That’s good news. I asked about this back in January and received a reply from someone at Irish Railway Models saying it wasn’t possible for Accurascale models as a UK company. The MCV set I want has sold out to pre-orders in the meantime so I’ve had to order from a UK retailer, but good to know for other models.

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4 hours ago, JST said:

As a resident of France I also suffered this problem. However, Hattons have registered for VAT in France and consequently they charge UK VAT, label the packaging accordingly and nothing gets charged to the customer in the EU when it is delivered. I have received several orders from Hattons on this basis without problem. For this reason I have pre-ordered my Accurascale Manor from Hattons.


I received a bookazine and some wagon tarpaulins from Hatton’s a few weeks ago. I’m in Portugal and the package was stopped for customs clearance, despite the bookazine being a “document”. Once I declared the value as less than €22 (euro) it was cleared without charge. My understanding is that UK retailers can register in any EU country and then they can charge the VAT for the destination EU country (not UK VAT) at point of sale and the goods can be sent effectively pre-cleared. The rules change from June however, at which point the up to €22 euro exception is abolished and all retailers are encouraged to register in an EU country. But of course for some retailers it won’t be worth it.

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14 minutes ago, brushman47544 said:


That’s good news. I asked about this back in January and received a reply from someone at Irish Railway Models saying it wasn’t possible for Accurascale models as a UK company. The MCV set I want has sold out to pre-orders in the meantime so I’ve had to order from a UK retailer, but good to know for other models.

 

Most odd, as we've been set up that way since October last year - feel free to PM me your email and I can check who you spoke to :)

 

 

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On 10/05/2021 at 14:04, JST said:

As a resident of France I also suffered this problem. However, Hattons have registered for VAT in France and consequently they charge UK VAT, label the packaging accordingly and nothing gets charged to the customer in the EU when it is delivered. I have received several orders from Hattons on this basis without problem. For this reason I have pre-ordered my Accurascale Manor from Hattons.

 

I've had about 15 parcels arrive this year from the UK to France with VAT removed. Only one got the gestapo treatment. And it was one of 3 that passed the £100 mark.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have ordered a Class 37, I am told it will be shipped from Dublin to me in Germany.

 

Generally, the EU import duty for model railway goods from UK is zero percent; but you still have to pay the VAT (levied on the price of the goods plus shipping), the merchant should not charge the UK VAT - unless the merchant is, like Hattons, registered in the EU meaning there is no more to pay upon receipt.

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8 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

I have ordered a Class 37, I am told it will be shipped from Dublin to me in Germany.

 

Generally, the EU import duty for model railway goods from UK is zero percent; but you still have to pay the VAT (levied on the price of the goods plus shipping), the merchant should not charge the UK VAT - unless the merchant is, like Hattons, registered in the EU meaning there is no more to pay upon receipt.


if you are in the EU you will not pay UK Vat 

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9 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

I have ordered a Class 37, I am told it will be shipped from Dublin to me in Germany.

 

Generally, the EU import duty for model railway goods from UK is zero percent; but you still have to pay the VAT (levied on the price of the goods plus shipping), the merchant should not charge the UK VAT - unless the merchant is, like Hattons, registered in the EU meaning there is no more to pay upon receipt.

 

 

UK VAT does not come into it. both Germany and the Republic of Ireland [Dublin it`s capital} are in the EU . So no duties are applicable. If buying form the UK then that is a different ball game. 

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34 minutes ago, 40F said:

 

 

UK VAT does not come into it. both Germany and the Republic of Ireland [Dublin it`s capital} are in the EU . So no duties are applicable. If buying form the UK then that is a different ball game. 

 

No 'duties' are payable when buying railway models full stop! - Railway models are ZERO RATED under EU, UK and WTO rules due to them being classed as 'Toys'

 

VAT is still payable regardless of whether the transaction is UK - EU or EU - EU

 

VAT is NOT a 'Duty' its a Tax and falls outside trade tariffs / customs duties

 

Under new EU rules VAT MUST be charged based on the address of the recipient regardless of whether its an EU - EU transaction or a UK - EU one.

 

So if living in Germany then either the retailer must collect German VAT at point of sale, or alternatively they must remove VAT and the customer pays it to the shipping courier to get their hands on the goods once they arrive in Germany.

 

Either way you still pay VAT - just the German rate rather than the Irish / British rate.

 

(You may be lucky and the shipment fly 'under the radar' with the courier not collecting the VAT they should do but that cannot be relied upon)

 

From the point of view of the consumer there is no difference between buying railway models from the Ireland or the UK - the difference is administrative in nature however the end result is the same in terms of what has to be paid. Its just a question of when and to whom.

 

Basically, as both Ireland and Germany are within the EU the Irish retailer does not need to be VAT registered in Germany as well as Ireland. This makes things simpler for the retailer and the forwarding of VAT to other member states easier for small businesses so they are more likely to do it.

 

By contrast, as the UK is outside the EU, retailers based here must be VAT registered in the the purchaser resides  - which in theory means being separately registered for tax in 28 countries if they want to provide full coverage.

 

Naturally many UK retailers are not equipped to do this so most will simply send models out without any VAT charged and get the buyer to pay what is owed to their national tax office by courier company before collection. The same could easily happen with an Irish trader selling to a German customer, but as both parties are within the EU the chances the retailer is able to collect the German VAT at point of sale are grater.

 

 

 

Edited by phil-b259
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For clarity, it's worth noting that, from July 1st, the rules are simplifying. 

 

Any shipments in the EU, will pay (in our case) Irish VAT and be deemed fully tax paid on receipt.

 

Any shipments in the UK, pay the regular HMRC 20% VAT.

 

Any shipments to the rest of the world, pay zero VAT.

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On 01/06/2021 at 10:25, phil-b259 said:

 

No 'duties' are payable when buying railway models full stop! - Railway models are ZERO RATED under EU, UK and WTO rules due to them being classed as 'Toys'

 

That might be the case for a registered importer of goods, but that is definitely not the case for a private individual (in Germany at least) buying via the internet from a non EU-Country.

Goods ordered this way are still subject to an import tax of 19% of the total value of the order (that is goods plus delivery cost) regardless of what they are.

Being toys just means that they won't be subject to any further taxes on top.

As such I have found myself paying an additional €57 for a sound fitted locomotive with an order value of  £256, and €19 for a pack of three wagons which had an order value of £64.

 

These additional costs are not trivial, so the fact that Accurascale will be despatching orders to their EU customers from within the EU is for me very welcome news.

 

Edited by rhnrhn
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7 minutes ago, rhnrhn said:

That might be the case for a registered importer of goods, but that is definitely not the case for a private individual (in Germany at least) buying via the internet from a non EU-Country.

Goods ordered this way are still subject to an import tax of 19% of the total value of the order (that is goods plus delivery cost) regardless of what they are.

Being toys just means that they won't be subject to any further taxes on top.

As such I have found myself paying an additional €57 for a sound fitted locomotive with an order value of  £256, and €19 for a pack of three wagons which had an order value of £64.

 

These additional costs are not trivial, so the fact that Accurascale will be despatching orders to their EU customers from within the EU is for me very welcome news.

 

So a double whammy then.

 

Brexit means people living in Germany pay more for goods from the UK on top of all the EU mandated VAT changes.

 

Not exactly great for redressing the balance of trade between the respective nations is it!

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1 hour ago, rhnrhn said:

Goods ordered this way are still subject to an import tax of 19% of the total value of the order (that is goods plus delivery cost) regardless of what they are.

These additional costs are not trivial, so the fact that Accurascale will be despatching orders to their EU customers from within the EU is for me very welcome news.

 

 

The 19% is actually German VAT, so in theory UK exporters / shops should be charging you no UK VAT (so -20%) then you pay VAT at import into Germany at 19%. Duty on model railway items is always zero.

 

We've set up https://www.accurascale.eu to completely avoid the issue for EU customers, allowing them to pay their local VAT, in Euro at point of purchase with shipping remaining inside the EU.

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My experience buying from UK retailers is that they deduct UK VAT. I check this before I buy. I then pay local VAT. The only issue is sometimes the delivery companies charge a handling fee which adds to the cost and this will prevent me for purchasing if the handling fee is excessive. I dont mind paying VAT but I do mind paying it twice.

 

I have received Accurascale items post Brexit dispatched from both Britain and from Ireland and there were no additional charges, totally seamless. This is also the case with Hattons who are VAT registered in a number of EU countries so the price you pay at purchase is all that is required to get it to your door. 

Edited by BR Blue
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1 hour ago, BR Blue said:

My experience buying from UK retailers is that they deduct UK VAT. I check this before I buy. I then pay local VAT. The only issue is sometimes the delivery companies charge a handling charge which adds to the cost and this will prevent me for purchasing. I dont mind paying VAT but I do mind paying it twice.

 

Very sound advice, BR Blue, looking again at the two orders I was referring to, the VAT had not been deducted from the locomotive, for whatever reason, so I will check for this in future...

 

1 hour ago, McC said:

 

The 19% is actually German VAT, so in theory UK exporters / shops should be charging you no UK VAT (so -20%) then you pay VAT at import into Germany at 19%. Duty on model railway items is always zero.

   

... but it had been deducted from the wagons, as per McCs explanation.

 

Thank you both.

 

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17 hours ago, BR Blue said:

My experience buying from UK retailers is that they deduct UK VAT. I check this before I buy. I then pay local VAT. The only issue is sometimes the delivery companies charge a handling charge which adds to the cost and this will prevent me for purchasing. I dont mind paying VAT but I do mind paying it twice.

I’m not sure of the specifics of your case, but importing into Switzerland, I only pay a handling charge if tax is levied. And that kicks in only above a certain threshold (which is low enough to catch any locomotive). 

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