Import Tax From America

[UK2004]

If I am importing goods from across the pond, do I just pay VAT or is there an import tax? Also does it need to be marked that goods are for resale?

 

[boro97]

if your goods get stopped by customs you will pay import tax, unless your seller has agreed to pay it

 

[UK2004]

How much is iomport tax?

 

[boro97]

depends on what the value of the goods are, 17.5%
for example

goods worth £557
freight cost £137
total£694
customs rate 2.7%
customs duty £18
vat £7
total amount£719
vat of £126
admin fee £2

so the total amount charged on £557
was £147
thats what i had to pay when i import goods

 

[UK2004]

Ahh that'snot too horrific, thanks for breaking it down, VAT as with all things British is the killer!

 

[puravida]

Don't confuse VAT and import duty - they are entirely different things.

When you import, basically, you pay for the cost of the goods plus the cost of shipping. When it arrives in the UK, you pay import duty as a percentage of the total cost of the goods and shipping. This can vary from 0% through to 15%+ depending upon the product. You can get these exact rates by calling HMCE.

You then also have to pay agents fees for clearing the goods through customs for you and one or two other small charges.

The killer is that you then must pay 17.5% VAT on EVERYTHING so far including all the fees, shipping, import duty etc. Of course if you are VAT registered then you claim this back but you still need to make provision in your cashflow to cover it.

 

[Cornish Steve]

What taxes apply if services are sold from the US as opposed to goods? In this case, nothing is imported.

 

[dagr]

What taxes apply if services are sold from the US as opposed to goods? In this case, nothing is imported.

It depends on what the service is and who is paying for it.

For example, I believe a non-EU company that wants to sell web-based offerings to individuals in the EU has to be VAT registered somewhere in one of the EU countries.

 

[Crafts by Carolyn]

You can find out the code for your goods and get them to quote it on the package so that you are charged the correct duty.

The carrier will charge you an admin fee for collecting the tax/duty too. and that can be anything from £4 to £14 depending on who delivers and whether it was sent 24 hours or not.

You don't always pay duty, but you will always pay VAT.

 

[wnt]

I have found this quite interesting thread about import duty and VAT. A friend of mine has hair extension company in the US and all her hair is imported from India. She wants to expand into the UK and that's where I come in; I will be taking care of her UK clients. The hair extensions sold here will be coming from the US in a "raw material" form - yet to be washed and packaged. My mate will be creating a web page for the UK market. I am looking to invest about £2,000.00, and my question is; does anyone know how much this would cost me in duty/ vat /any other costs for the 2k investment on hair?

Would really appreciate any ideas as import tax/duty is really not my area!

Thanks people

 

[winelight]

Well as has already been explained, you will pay import (customs) duty (no idea what that will be on hair extensions) and other expenses, and then VAT on top of everything. The sum in the posting above by boro97 gives you a good example. But the only way you can get an absolutely definitive answer is by trying it... import £1000 worth of hair and see how much you end up paying.