Brexit: more about tax changes faced by online merchants

 

As advanced in a previous article, following Brexit, a lot of merchants in the EU will no longer be dealing with UK customers because of the tax changes. Moreover, shipping companies are introducing additional charges for shipments between these two areas because they have had to make investments to adapt their system to cope with this change. What exactly does this involve?

The new rules implemented by HM Revenue and Customs, became applicable on the 1st of January. It states that VAT is now collected at the point of sale instead of at the point of importation. As such, overseas retailers shipping products to the country have to register for UK VAT and account for it to HMRC if the sale value is less than €150 (£135). According to a spokesperson from the British government, “The new VAT model ensures goods from EU and non-EU countries are treated in the same way and that UK businesses are not disadvantaged by competition from VAT-free imports”. He further advanced that this also addresses the problem of international sellers not paying the right amount of VAT on “sales of goods already in the UK at the point of sale”.

However, as consumer rights experts pointed out, clients are going to be frustrated if these new VAT rules cause them significant inconvenience, which seems to be the case right now.


The VAT rules might cause inconveniences © Royalty-free image

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