Forum Moderators: buckworks
Does anybody outside the UK collect VAT on behalf of UK customers shopping on their site? Is this normal practice?
I am new to to ecommerce having just made my first UK sale from Australia recently. Unfortunately, my first UK customer having received her goods from me was annoyed to receive a hefty VAT/clearnce bill recently.
I do state in my T&C's that condition of sale requires the buyer to pay all relevant duties/excises/and charges incurred within their own state. I do collect GST from my Australian customers.
CAVEAT: this is a personal interpretation, you should consult the relevant notice yourself.
That's a problem with the web, punters assume that if they can see the site then it is the same as buying from a local b&m store. I have seen several complaints here about people raising chargebacks for "non-delivery" rather than pay customs duties.
I could understand an American getting confused if it wasn't 110% obvious that pricing was in AUD not USD but for any European the dollar sign should be a hint.
yes but in the case of importing into the uk, this can be considerable, import duty and VAT can both be charged, a normal customer would not normally be aware of what the import duty was due on an item, in the same way it is usual practice for retial sales in the uk (online and offline) to have the price quoted as including the VAT, thus it would be a suprise for a customer to receive an extra bill.
European companies who are registered for VAT ( or their own countries equvalent ) have a community wide VAT number ( or local equivalent nomenclature )..to simplify the billing of goods and services within the EU ..all EU countries apply some equvalent to VAT as it is actually a European "internal" tax ..
I do display the AUD symbol and have installed a geotargeting module to display alternative currencies, so that side of it is not an issue. However, I can understand how a customer would not even think about additional taxes and charges when purchasing. I have incurred extra charges myself when purchasing from stores in the USA.
Maybe a solution is to post clear warnings outside the TOS section of my site to alert the visitor to the possibility of excises, duties or taxes as I'd rather lose sales than upset customers
Unless you are registered for VAT with HM customs and excise ...you cannot advertise your prices as VAT inclusive ..to do would be considered fraud by the UK and your local TAX authorities
I haven't advertised my prices as VAT inclusive. What I do state withinin my TOS however is that I am based in Australia and do apply an Australian GST to Australian customers. I also offer a condition of sale being that international customers are responsible for the levies imposed by their governments.
How you are handling it is fine ..
the problem for many European citizens is that they dont realize that they still have to pay VAT even if they buy from outside Europe ..they think it will somehow "sneak" through ..or they will ask you to declare "no commercial value" ( which is again fraudulent and can get you into trouble with your own customs people ..even outside the EU ) ..
If the UK customs collected VAT on the shipment as it passed through their hands and then billed her ..that is normal ..She doesnt like it ..she takes it up with them ..you are not responsible for European tax policy .. :)
Yes, I think this particular customer will have to deal with not having read terms and conditions, however I think I might plaster a couple of notices around the site to warn other international customers.
On the upside, this woman hasn't lost out as the product she received was very competitively priced. Although I don't think she would know this as it is not normally a product accessible to the retail market.
You really need a warning notice to appear when the customer enters an overseas delivery address
Hmmm, that's a thought. Thank you.
I wonder if there are any third party modules for x cart s which offer this feature.
