Ebay Automatically Adding 20% to Item List Price - UK Buyer/UK Seller

[JC]

Yesterday I bought a loco from an Ebay shop for the item list price of £114.95 but was charged £143.04 because Ebay added VAT to the item. It was a UK seller. I understand that this is Brexit related but it is an Ebay glitch, which they know about. I now have to claim the money back from Ebay. I would not have bought the item had it been listed at £143.04.

 

Just a warning, therefore, for you to watch out when you buy at the moment. I clicked through Paypal without even thinking about it when I bought, and only noticed today. 

[John M Upton]

If the seller is registered outside of the UK irrespective of whether the item is warehoused in the UK then I am afraid 20% VAT is now automatically applied.

 

It has been discussed elsewhere on RMWeb, it kicked in on 1st of January and affects most overseas sales of new goods through Ebay. 

[LimboBrit]

40 minutes ago, JC said:

I now have to claim the money back from Ebay.

When purchasing form overseas, If the seller is VAT registered they need to deduct VAT from the listed price. Ebay then adds it back as they are responsible for collecting the VAT. Not all Ebay sellers are geared up for this so you need to contact the seller not Ebay otherwise you end up paying VAT twice

[JC]

16 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

If the seller is registered outside of the UK irrespective of whether the item is warehoused in the UK then I am afraid 20% VAT is now automatically applied.

 

It has been discussed elsewhere on RMWeb, it kicked in on 1st of January and affects most overseas sales of new goods through Ebay. 

Yes I understand that but this is a UK seller. 

[JC]

5 minutes ago, LimboBrit said:

When purchasing form overseas, If the seller is VAT registered they need to deduct VAT from the listed price. Ebay then adds it back as they are responsible for collecting the VAT. Not all Ebay sellers are geared up for this so you need to contact the seller not Ebay otherwise you end up paying VAT twice

As mentioned though this is a UK seller. Apparently it is a glitch. Ebay should not be adding VAT, but have done, so it's not the seller's fault. That said, I think, given that the seller has told me this has happened on a few of his recent sales, that he ought to be warning buyers in advance. 

[RichardT]

48 minutes ago, JC said:

Yesterday I bought a loco from an Ebay shop for the item list price of £114.95 but was charged £143.04 because Ebay added VAT to the item. It was a UK seller. I understand that this is Brexit related but it is an Ebay glitch, which they know about.

 

Hi JC

 

Just for clarification, are you saying that both you and the seller are based in the UK, but nevertheless eBay automatically added VAT?  If that's the case then yes, we all definitely need to know about this glitch.

 

EDIT - You answered my question whilst I was typing!

 

Cheers

Richard T

Edited January 18, 2021 by RichardT

[LimboBrit]

3 minutes ago, JC said:

Yes I understand that but this is a UK seller.

Could it be that it is a UK seller but the goods are coming from elsewhere?

[Quarryscapes]

From ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/listings/default/vat-obligations-eu?id=4650#section1

 

Note the important bit here is: "All sellers listing on eBay.co.uk will have to provide a gross price and separate VAT rate, so that eBay can determine the correct amount of VAT to collect from consumers. For non-EU/UK sellers, unless you have included UK or EU VAT in your pricing calculations, the VAT rate will usually be 0%."

 

 

[JC]

8 minutes ago, RichardT said:

 

Hi JC

 

Just for clarification, are you saying that both you and the seller are based in the UK, but nevertheless eBay automatically added VAT?  If that's the case then yes, we all definitely need to know about this glitch.

 

EDIT - You answered my question whilst I was typing!

 

Cheers

Richard T

Hi Rich, that is exactly what I am saying.

 

Below is the response from the seller when I informed them. Amazingly enough I got through to Ebay and the person I spoke to said it is Ebay who  should not have charged this and I now have to wait for them to confirm whether I will get a refund. She said I should get a refund.

 

Hello,

in connection with your recent purchase from me, it has just been brought to my attention that over the last three or four days Ebay has been adding “20% tax” to your invoice AFTER you have comitted to buy!!! (Nice!).

You may or may not have noticed this overpayment, but it now seems eBay has a serious glitch in it's software which is adding 20% to your bill, apparently it's something to do with Brexit. You can google this problem here …

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/Checkout-adding-20-even-for-buyers-in-the-UK-I-am-in-the-UK/td-p/6835853?nobounce=

This issue is nothing to do with me, I don't get this additional money. Ebay have publicly said they are working to resolve the issue and will be refunding such overpayments, (but I wouldn't like to say when). They have absolutely no right in law to be doing this.

Your item has either been recently posted, or will be posted shortly, but unfortunately you will have to wait an unknown amount of time for a refund from Ebay, who, as I said earlier, are in possession of this extra payment. This situation is entirely outside my control. Please feel free to harrass Ebay. Please do not submit a request to cancel the sale.

Yours
 

[JC]

4 minutes ago, Quarryscapes said:

From ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/listings/default/vat-obligations-eu?id=4650#section1

 

Note the important bit here is: "All sellers listing on eBay.co.uk will have to provide a gross price and separate VAT rate, so that eBay can determine the correct amount of VAT to collect from consumers. For non-EU/UK sellers, unless you have included UK or EU VAT in your pricing calculations, the VAT rate will usually be 0%."

 

 

It wasn't in this case, and the seller (a shop not a private individual) has had several instances of this so he says.

[Gilbert]

10 minutes ago, Quarryscapes said:

From ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/listings/default/vat-obligations-eu?id=4650#section1

 

Note the important bit here is: "All sellers listing on eBay.co.uk will have to provide a gross price and separate VAT rate, so that eBay can determine the correct amount of VAT to collect from consumers. For non-EU/UK sellers, unless you have included UK or EU VAT in your pricing calculations, the VAT rate will usually be 0%."

 

 

To be clear this is from the section about cross-border trade:

"Changes to VAT treatment of imports into the UK"

[JC]

I also contacted the seller and said to him that given he is aware of this glitch, and it is really a seller/Ebay issue to resolve (even though the onus for a refund apparently falls on the buyer to sort it out) then he should be warning potential buyers in advance of them purchasing. He has since added the following to all his shop items.

 

PLEASE NOTE THERE IS A GLITCH IN EBAY WHEREBY THEY ARE ADDING "20% TAX" TO YOUR INVOICE !!!AFTER!!! YOU HAVE COMMITTED TO BUY AN ITEM, SOMETHING TO DO WITH BREXIT, THEY HAVE PUBLICLY ADMITTED (GOOGLE IT) THAT THERE IS A FAULT IN THEIR SOFTWARE AND ARE WORKING TO CORRECT IT. THIS IS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME, I DON'T GET THIS OVERPAYMENT. PLEASE TAKE PITY ON A POOR HARRASSED SELLER AND MAKE YOUR PURCHASE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT EBAY HAVE PUBLICLY SAID THEY WILL BE REFUNDING SUCH OVERPAYMENTS. THEY HAVE NO RIGHT IN LAW TO DO THIS. 

[EddieB]

Quite alarming, as it seems eBay has used Brexit as an excuse to start adding VAT charges to all imports, irrespective of origin or value.

 

I've come to this thread as I'm puzzled why listings from a seller in South Africa (who distributes through a UK contact to save international postage) suddenly have the 20% rate added.

[Jonboy]

2 hours ago, EddieB said:

Quite alarming, as it seems eBay has used Brexit as an excuse to start adding VAT charges to all imports, irrespective of origin or value.

 

I've come to this thread as I'm puzzled why listings from a seller in South Africa (who distributes through a UK contact to save international postage) suddenly have the 20% rate added.

 

Not Brexit directly but because as an online marketplace eBay now have a legal obligation to do so, unless the seller has proved to them that they have a uk VAT registration and are charging VAT accordingly.

 

It is HMRC finally catching up on all these small consignments passing through customs with false declarations and collecting the Import VAT that is due at source rather than trying to catch it at the border (The EU have similar measures coming in from July....).

[JC]

15 hours ago, EddieB said:

Quite alarming, as it seems eBay has used Brexit as an excuse to start adding VAT charges to all imports, irrespective of origin or value.

 

I've come to this thread as I'm puzzled why listings from a seller in South Africa (who distributes through a UK contact to save international postage) suddenly have the 20% rate added.

The seller in this case is a UK seller.

And I still haven't got my money back.

[njee20]

I don’t believe this is a glitch by eBay. I reckon the seller is doing something a bit weird. No specific reason to think that, but clearly this isn’t affecting everyone, so there must be a reason it keeps happening to him. Not that that helps you in the slightest. 

[Theakerr]

Yet another reason why I have essentially stopped buying off e-bay.  For many items I find I can get an alternate source but it must really be hurting the little guys who relay on e-bay.  Here in Canada on a US import, e-bay adds our GST tax regardless of value even though our new trade agreement has increased the limit before tax is charged and then add an administration fee.  On some items I have also seen a shipping premium added.   From the UK they do the same even though I think the tax free limit is Can$200 for incoming shipment.  Further - note I cannot vouch for its veracity, but the mill has it that none of this charge actually ends up with Revenue Canada.   

Added question to any Canadians, Are my statements still true about the US?  For the above reasons i have not purchased anything from the US for a year or so.

[JC]

On 20/01/2021 at 10:47, njee20 said:

I don’t believe this is a glitch by eBay. I reckon the seller is doing something a bit weird. No specific reason to think that, but clearly this isn’t affecting everyone, so there must be a reason it keeps happening to him. Not that that helps you in the slightest. 

Hmmmmm, I honestly don't know, other than I'm in comms with Ebay who say this is their problem.

[Sir TophamHatt]

I am in the UK and have bought from someone in the UK without it adding anything extra...  that I'm aware of.

[melmerby]

Has this quirk been resolved?

Since the start of 2021 I have had about 6 separate orders (non train) from the e-bay shops of UK based retailers with UK stock and no VAT has been added.

[Colin_McLeod]

When e bay refer to "import fees" do they really mean "VAT" since the import duty on model trains is 0% ?