Importing items from India - VAT rates / Duty / Customs

[oodya]

Hi all,

I have asked this question previously, but have not had a proper reply, so I am re-trying with as much detail as possible.

I am thinking about starting my own business. I am hoping to import items from abroad (wedding cards from China and India) and would like some help about the VAT / customs / duty charges. What I would like to know is what I have to declare to the government / HMRC and how do I declare this. A situation that I am likely to be in is:

I will ask a supplier to send me some items (probably by air). The value of the goods is likely to be about 15-20p each (this is the amount that I will pay the supplier). This means that my supplier will be sending me goods worth about £120. I will be trying to sell the items for about 45-50p each.

So how does this all work? At what stage do I pay my VAT / customs / duty charges? And how much would I pay?

The commodity code for the items is: 4909000000

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Oodya.

[Batra Ventures UK Limited]

I think you would be paying your import VAT/duty via your freight agent. As the thresholds have recently been changed, I think the new one is probably £115 but dont know much.

[RAL]

So how does this all work? At what stage do I pay my VAT / customs / duty charges? And how much would I pay?

The commodity code for the items is: 4909000000

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Oodya.

You pay vat at 17.5% on value of imported goods. I do not think there is a import duty on the items you are going to import.

Generally you would pay vat and transportation fees to freight company (or Royal Mail, if you use them). You would have to pay before they release the goods.

[Moocher]

You will have to pay VAT where the value of the goods imported exceeds £18. The type of goods you are importing have no import duty attached to them, so the only extra cost is VAT at 17.5% (20% from 4th Jan 2011). VAT is calculated on the cost of the goods plus cost of shipping.

Your courier will pay the VAT on your behalf and then recover that from you along with a handling fee. Royal Mail/Parcelforce will be similar. In both cases, you will have to pay the VAT before receiving your package.

If you are VAT registered then you will receive a C79 each month from HMRC which is a statement of all the VAT you have paid on import and you use this to recover the VAT paid on your VAT return.

Hope this helps.

[Mister B]

Hi all,

I have asked this question previously, but have not had a proper reply, so I am re-trying with as much detail as possible.

I am thinking about starting my own business. I am hoping to import items from abroad (wedding cards from China and India) and would like some help about the VAT / customs / duty charges. What I would like to know is what I have to declare to the government / HMRC and how do I declare this. A situation that I am likely to be in is:

I will ask a supplier to send me some items (probably by air). The value of the goods is likely to be about 15-20p each (this is the amount that I will pay the supplier). This means that my supplier will be sending me goods worth about £120. I will be trying to sell the items for about 45-50p each.

So how does this all work? At what stage do I pay my VAT / customs / duty charges? And how much would I pay?

The commodity code for the items is: 4909000000

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Oodya.

There have been loads of threads on this recently. Either read some of those or read this (http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073859152) guide and come back with any further questions.

Mister B