import tax

[Andy123]

Hi, I'm just getting into the Lego train things (mainly through my son but loving it mself!) and wanted to order wheels from Bens Bricks - can anyone tell me if there is import tax to pay? i don't want to order some wheels and then find it costs loads with an import tax.

thanks

Andy 

[MAB]

28 minutes ago, Andy123 said:

Hi, I'm just getting into the Lego train things (mainly through my son but loving it mself!) and wanted to order wheels from Bens Bricks - can anyone tell me if there is import tax to pay? i don't want to order some wheels and then find it costs loads with an import tax.

thanks

Andy 

There won't be import tax but there will be UK VAT added on. Plus you'll get hit with an £8 fee to collect the VAT unless they are registered to collect UK VAT or sell through an online marketplace that collects the VAT.

[Andy123]

thanks MAB, sounds complicated, any advice on getting Big Ben wheels in UK?

Andy

[Phil-B259]

The bad news is unless you have a friend who is able to bring them to you in the UK personally then you are most likely going to get stung for VAT and fees somewhere along the line.

Its not that complicated though - before you can take delivery of the item either Royal mail (or the courier company handling delivery of them from the US) will require you to pay VAT at 20% (which they pass on to the Government) plus a handling charge before the goods will be released to you.

In other words once you have paid Bens Bricks you sit back and wait for the 'you have a fee to pay notification to come through from the courier company.

What you will get is the postman drop a 'you have a fee to pay' card through your door after which you pay online to have the parcel released an delivered as normal. See Help with customs fees and the Fee to pay card (royalmail.com)

BEWARE OF SCAMS though - For example Royal Mail will NEVER send you a text, etc Typical online scams to look out for | Royal Mail Group Ltd.

Courier companies will be slightly different - but as above BEWARE OF SCAMS and make sure you are going through the official websites etc when paying.

The good news is that Lego (or Lego compatible items) are classed as a toy under World Trade Organisations so are free of all Tariffs - there will be no import fee to pay, just the VAT + handling charge mentioned above.

 

Its a shame (though totally understandable) that Bens Bricks doesn't have an e-bay storefront because if buying through them then they will collect the VAT at the checkout which means that you can avoid having to pay the courier / postal company handling charge when the parcel lands in the UK as VAT will have already been passed on by e-bay.

[Hod Carrier]

I've had a few LEGO related items come from the States in the past few years and I have found that the application of the VAT regulations seems to vary. Twice I've won competition prizes and have had to pay the duty on them before I received them, but then I have also ordered third party parts (including BBB wheels) and not had to pay a penny. I can only assume that there is something in the shipping declaration that has not attracted the attention of the excise men, but whether it was in how the contents were categorised or their stated value I could not say. Either way, it was the small parcels that seemed to slip through while the large ones got stopped.

I think that you just have to accept that ordering items from overseas will attract costs that are built-in to the final price when buying from a UK seller. For this reason I try to limit my Bricklink orders to UK vendors and check part and colour availability during the design process, substituting as necessary. The other thing you need to accept is that ordering parts from the States means a long shipping time, potentially as much as 4 weeks.

@Phil-B259's description of the process is correct and reflects my own experience.

[Phil-B259]

However with BrickLink, most of the time you can pay the VAT due at the checkout.

The importance of this is (like e-bay) that once the parcel arrives in the UK it should be recognised by the systems as not being subject to any extra charges - I.e. you dodge the £8 ‘handling fee’

So while the whole VAT change thing has increased costs of for buying from overseas BrickLink stores, the whole process itself is pretty much exactly the same as before.

[Hod Carrier]

10 hours ago, Phil-B259 said:

However with BrickLink, most of the time you can pay the VAT due at the checkout.

The importance of this is (like e-bay) that once the parcel arrives in the UK it should be recognised by the systems as not being subject to any extra charges - I.e. you dodge the £8 ‘handling fee’

So while the whole VAT change thing has increased costs of for buying from overseas BrickLink stores, the whole process itself is pretty much exactly the same as before.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that only applies where the seller is in the EU and not for all overseas sellers.