Lego set import charge tax to UK from Australia?

[jaesroe]

Hi Lego fans!

I wonder is there any import tax of lego set from Australia to UK? Since I live in London, I used to search my wish set within the EU to save shipping cost and also there is no import tax within EU. However, I have been told there is income tax from outside of EU.

Have anyone ordered and received a set from Australia? if so, how much was the import tax? any comments or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!!!

[Risgrynsgrot]

Well, I'm not from the UK, but Sweden, but I did a quick search and from what I've gathered from this site https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

It looks like you'll be charged VAT, 20 % of the total value, and aswell as a Duty at 2,5 % of the goods/postage if you've bought something worth more than £135. However I've purchased stuff from outside of EU a handful of times (probably around 15 different things) and I've only had to pay any VAT/Duties once. However I do not know if this is usual in the UK, or if they're stricter with VAT there.

[AmperZand]

I'm in the UK. For goods imported from outside the EU, if the "intrinsic" value is more than £15, you are liable for duty which is between 10 and 20% of the value of the goods and postage, VAT of 20% of the goods+postage+duty and a £8 Post Office charge. None of this applies if the goods are under £15.

If you're lucky, your packet may come through without being stopped by Customs in which case you have nothing to pay.

[paul_delahaye]

This is an interesting topic and one that has annoyed me on several purchases I've made from the USA and been charged VAT and the Dreaded Post Office stealth charge.

If the bricklink seller is running his shop as a business, purchased the goods from his supplier and reclaimed the local state Tax, then yes I can understand when he sells it to me, I should pay VAT at the full rate value of the goods.

However, if I buy from a private seller, (who has not been able to reclaim any Tax on his original purchase and is unlikely to be declaring his earnings from his shop in his tax return) and he is selling a product which he paid $20 when new, but due to supply and demand of a discontinued product, he has managed to get me to pay him $200 for a now second hand product, it is frustrating that most of the time, the seller wants to declare the goods at $200. when the true value of the goods is $20 (What he paid for it). I then end up paying tax on a product which has already had tax paid on it once, but at a much higher rate. I'm sure a HMRC tax expert will be along in a minute to corret me, but just my opinion.

Paul

Edited May 14, 2015 by paul_delahaye

[Sammael]

Are you sure private US sellers don't declare BL earnings for tax purposes? That's a huge tax fraud over there, and cheating the IRS is worse than murdering someone...

[Robianco]

The post office £8 charge is more of a killer than the VAT!

I'm sure there are many sellers on BL as well as those on eBay who don't declare earnings from those sites.

[bonox]

the seller wants to declare the goods at $200. when the true value of the goods is $20 (What he paid for it).

an interesting viewpoint. By that same logic, when I by a 70 year old house from a deceased estate, I should only be paying the 3% stamp duty on the 3,000 pounds the last owner paid for it, not the 2 million dollars it cost in todays money.

The true value of an item is not what the seller paid for it but what the new buyer is willing to pay for it.

That's, afterall, why we depreciate most items and appreciate others

[dr_spock]

Under declaring the value of the goods on the custom forms can also get the seller into trouble.

[MAB]

This is an interesting topic and one that has annoyed me on several purchases I've made from the USA and been charged VAT and the Dreaded Post Office stealth charge.

If the bricklink seller is running his shop as a business, purchased the goods from his supplier and reclaimed the local state Tax, then yes I can understand when he sells it to me, I should pay VAT at the full rate value of the goods.

However, if I buy from a private seller, (who has not been able to reclaim any Tax on his original purchase and is unlikely to be declaring his earnings from his shop in his tax return) and he is selling a product which he paid $20 when new, but due to supply and demand of a discontinued product, he has managed to get me to pay him $200 for a now second hand product, it is frustrating that most of the time, the seller wants to declare the goods at $200. when the true value of the goods is $20 (What he paid for it). I then end up paying tax on a product which has already had tax paid on it once, but at a much higher rate. I'm sure a HMRC tax expert will be along in a minute to corret me, but just my opinion.

Paul

It's because charging VAT on purchases outside the EU keeps it fair for UK and EU businesses. If I could import anything from the US or elsewhere where they have lower taxes, then I wouldn't buy much from the UK or EU. The UK would have to drop the VAT rate to match the lowest worldwide rate to enable UK businesses to compete when selling to UK customers.

The true value of the goods is the retail cost at the time - that is, what you paid for it.