Brexit consequences

Bet you thought that this was a Brexit free zone.

Just watching television news and the guys at the parcel sorting office made it clear that Uk parcels bound for Ireland in the event of a nodeal Brexit  will be subject to vat where its valued over 22 euros and if over 150 euros it will be subject to both vat and customs duties.

For me, I've given up buying from the UK due to the price of models v the price from Europe. Its not even the currency conversion either that causing the difference either. Add to that the additional cost because of Brexit will really impact model sellers in the UK.

You should try living this side of the water! As a UK resident thats the least of our worries however can see my buying taking a back seat for some time to come. For example wholesale prices of Minichamps due to £sterling against the $dollar means its cheaper to buy from European sellers at their retail prices as opposed from a UK wholesaler. At the moment the job's fucked and I cant see there being much improvement in the foreseeable

interesting times ahead indeed, and we have representatives on the forum from all affected parties, Ireland, UK mainland and UK Northern Ireland....only point i would make is the latest deal has to be accepted by UK parliament plus Europe and on first impressions that doesnt seem too likely....this would result in either a no-deal or an extension to Brexit so i'm ignoring all the scare-mongering and agenda-fuelled "experts" to see where exactly we end up...then at least we'll actually know....

Well we now have clarity on our side. Any goods bought for €22 or more incl shipping and postage will carry VAT . If the value exceeds €150 then vat and duty added. Kiss of death for my UK purchases .

Glad you have clarity James, thats more than we have on our little Island!

I hope the bellends who voted leave with little or no idea of the consequences are happy with the clusterfuck we are facing.

Sal the 2nd wrote:Glad you have clarity James, thats more than we have on our little Island!

I hope the bellends who voted leave with little or no idea of the consequences are happy with the clusterfuck we are facing.

This is a model forum and I don't wish to politicise it, but I cannot let this go.

Once Cameron started down the road of a referendum significant changes were coming regardless of the result. Unpredictable changes either way. IMO the biggest casualty in it all so far has been tolerance, which is a shame

Happy to move on. Unlike some of our cousins across the Atlantic am accepting of the democratic process even though I strongly disagree with the outcome.

Its an emotive subject and apologies for my outburst however I will say that a few quid/euro on a model is kind of the least of our issues just now!

Sorry wasn’t meant as any kind of political jibe . Far bigger issues at stake I know .

James I know you better and my post kind if shows some of the emotions that are prevalent around this Shire.

On top of this terrible pandemic which shows little sign of abating regardless of vaccines or not we have something else to undermine confidence at all levels which is entirely of our own making!

I've got a couple of outstanding Otto orders of which one, the Golf GTi will definetley land post Jan 1st. The only thing we can pray just now is that some compromise will at least allow the UK economy some way out of the mire duty on imported models regardless. Its going to be a bumpy ride.

Posted a batch of ebay sales out today and already was asked to put the CN22 customs forms on the packaged for those items going to the ROI and mainland Europe.

Just waiting to see what inflated handling fee I will be charged when my next Otto order lands in a week's time now.

I've ordered some models from Greece let see what happens.

Anyone found a tax/import duty calculator that can work out what would need to be paid?? Was on two different sites earlier and one of them was coming up with a vat charge only if the description of model car with a price of £65 is put in, the other site came up with no charge of vat or import duty if a description of toy car was put in. I ordered a Cross pen (£30) yesterday and checking the two sites came up with zero charges if classified as educational equipment, but pen brought up a few euro if a charge.

Need to look at that calculator!

At best it looks like you could get hit with charges randomly. Found this on the Guardian website:

"Any item bought online from the EU and sent to the UK may incur VAT charges and handling fees, depending on its value, and whether it is a gift or commercial goods, according to Royal Mail.

“For items under £135 (with the exception of gifts), VAT will be collected directly when they buy the goods online. For goods with a value over £135 (and gifts over £39), Royal Mail may collect the VAT and customs duties from the customer prior to delivery,” it says."

Its the "may" bit which is the most concerning bit. It does sound like parcels may get inspected or may not depending on value and I guess if the sender adds a customs form. As for other carriers like DHL etc I expect them to levy charges straight away as its a nice little earner for them.

All in all it seems like it will be a bumpy ride with only one thing for certain that models will be more expensive and may make sales like most of my ebay stuff less attractive to European buyers.

Talking of ebay they are already showing the 20% higher prices now as was watching a couple of models from last week and they are both roughly £10 more expensive.

In Ireland, the Post collects the Vat or Duty. We have a lovely scheme where the postage costs are included in the value of the package. If you are buying from outside the EU the post can be €30 or so you end u paying 21% of the post costs on top of the value of the time.

and then there is the special case of northern ireland.....anyone who understands what we will be doing is a better man than me!! ah well, time will tell......

so ive just tried to order a model from ck, a very reputable supplier whom ive bought from many times, and its been denied as no orders to uk under £135 will be delivered to UK......hhmmmm,,,,,,

So much for NI having the best of both worlds! There was a feature on the BBC News tonight that lots of companies in England/Scotland/Wales no longer willing to send goods to N Ireland due to all the paperwork and goods already been turned back as customs forms/paperwork missing. Already looking a bit of a shambles

Interesting re CK. As I posted prior the Royal Mail says there is a duty free cut off at £135.so would have though that was ok although not sure what the VAT rate is in Germany. Shame as have used them myself a lot. Think our small island(s) is going to be even smaller as predicted.

Maybe we need a friendly "post box" in the Republic that we can have stuff sent to?!!

yeah chris, bit of a shame regarding the likes of ck..... its been so confusing for us here, so much politics influenced the recent talks and agreement and its very unclear exactly where we stand.... yep a southern address sounds like the answer....

I had plans to purchase a car in the UK prior to Christmas but Covid scuppered my plans. Whatever I would have paid for it in December I now have to pay a further 21% Irish VAT . The question I cannot get an answer to is whether the U.K. garage can issue an invoice without U.K. vat . A private seller is just out of the question now. And what I have just been told is that buyers in Northern Ireland will also have to pay VAT on U.K. imported vehicles . Again I was looking at the car having a Northern Ireland “home” . Obviously anything I can do to help anyone with deliveries I will but you will have to make the long trek south to collect or else wait until I am doing a rally “up the country” . I don’t want to play politics with this but .............

so i got this reply from ck models re supplying models to uk, for clarification...

Due to the new situation of Brexit, we will unfortunately only be able to send to the UK again from January 6th, 2021.
As of this date, the following procedures will change due to Brexit:
- Shipping to the UK will be without VAT
- The shopping cart needs to be filled with a value of at least GBP135 (€ 155) - Orders below this value will no longer be accepted
- As a customer, you have to pay taxes on your goods in the UK. This works via DHL directly on delivery to your door. This means you pay 4% import tax + 20% VAT
- The shipping costs from Germany to UK are now € 19.95 as a standard package and € 39.95 as an express delivery
- If the value of goods exceeds GBP 977.44 (€ 1000), your orders will be split into 2 and you will therefore pay double the shipping costs
We know that this will mean some changes for you and us, but unfortunately we as a retailer have no influence on these measures and ask for your understanding that we have to introduce these changes.

looks like some collections on here may not be growing any time soon....

This is from an article in The Guardian today:

"Customers in Europe buying products ranging from furniture to pet food from UK companies are receiving unexpected bills for VAT and customs declarations or finding household names have stopped shipping to the continent, as post-Brexit trading rules bite
We bought a €47 [£42] shelf from Next for our bathroom,” said Thom Basely, who lives in Marseille. “On the morning it was supposed to be delivered we received an ‘import duty/tax’ demand for over €30, like a ransom note. It came as a complete surprise.”
A Frankfurt resident who ordered cycle clothing from a UK company was sent a tax and customs demand for €102, while a woman in the Netherlands who bought trousers in December “with no issues” faced a €40 bill for two more pairs ordered in January.
Chris Hickson, a retired logistics and freight forwarding expert living in France, said many people may have been surprised because “they believed the tariff-free trade deal negotiated between the UK and EU meant there would be no extra charges”.
Since the end of the Brexit transition period, however, continental customers must both complete a customs declaration for goods imported from the UK – a procedure generally performed by transporters, for which consumers will be charged, frequently up to €20 per declaration – and pay national VAT.
Other European customers have been informed that such iconic British retailers as the luxury food store Fortnum & Mason were unfortunately “unable to send any products to European countries at this current time, due to Brexit restrictions”.
Customers of the department store chain John Lewis, also popular with British citizens living in the EU, who value its “never knowingly undersold” price match guarantee and reliable customer service, have also been disappointed.
Until December, the retailer offered EU delivery for many items on sale through its website, including clothes. But anyone requesting shipping to Europe is now greeted by a page stating: “We are no longer taking orders for international delivery.”
Some retailers, such as George at Asda, have promised no additional charges, but several international platforms including Asos have halted deliveries to Europe from their UK sites, instead directing buyers to national versions in, for example, France.
David Martin, who lives in the Creuse region in central France, said he switched his regular order for dog food from the pet supplies company Zooplus to its Irish site after being told the UK platform was no longer accepting orders from the continent.
An “import fees deposit”, meanwhile, is now automatically added to orders from continental Europe placed via Amazon’s UK website, nearly doubling the cost of some items and making it significantly cheaper to find an EU alternative.
Hickson said fees for customs declarations were usually collected by the international shipping companies, such as DHL or UPS, responsible for transporting the goods, with customers notified of the charge – and obliged to pay – before delivery.
“Many vendors are not yet aware that this is the case, or if they are may not be able to say in advance what the bill will be,” he said. “VAT will depend on the category of goods and their value
Despite the tariff-free deal, customs duties will apply to goods ordered from the UK that do not originate from Britain. Goods ordered from and manufactured in the UK should not attract customs duty, but products ordered from the UK worth more than that €150 and shipped from outside Britain will.
A leading French consumer website cited the example of a pair of trainers ordered from a UK website for £270 but manufactured in and shipped from China, saying customs duty of 16.9% and 20% French VAT would bring their cost to about £378.
And while continental buyers are no longer charged British VAT on UK purchases, they must now pay local VAT in their country of residence - although this is waived for orders under €22 until 31 July. Platforms such as Amazon are entitled to collect continental VAT on orders worth less than €150.
“It’s a hugely complex situation,” Hickson said. “My recommendation to anyone in the EU looking to buy goods in the UK is: don’t order anything until you know what the charges and VAT will be. And be patient. This should all sort itself out eventually, but it’s going to take some time.”

Article on the York Press website today saying that DPD who are the carrier that deliver my Otto orders have returned over 20% of parcels coming into and leaving the Uk in the last week alone due to incorrect paper work missing customs forms etc. Looking like a proper omnishambles just now...

Anyone received or had notification of delivery of the December models yet?

Im not sure if brexit is fully to blame for no word on your otto models. Ive had nothing yet either.

JOB wrote:I had plans to purchase a car in the UK prior to Christmas but Covid scuppered my plans.  Whatever I would have paid for it in December I now have to pay a further 21% Irish VAT . The question I cannot get an answer to is whether the U.K. garage can issue an invoice without U.K. vat .  A private seller is just out of the question now. And what I have just been told is that buyers in Northern Ireland will also have to pay VAT on U.K. imported vehicles . Again I was looking at the car having a Northern Ireland “home” .  Obviously anything I can do to help anyone with deliveries I will but you will have to make the long trek south to collect or else wait until I am doing a rally “up the country” . I don’t want to play politics with this but .............

If you can find a car that is VAT applicable you could possibly export the car with a vat rebate and then pay it on entry to Ireland. Not sure what the extra duty will be. I brought a car in from the UK over two years ago and saved about €8,000 on the equivalent car here. Was hoping to do the same in December last year but covid scuppered that.