Product Exchange From EU Customer

[N/A]

Hi,

Hoping someone has experience with this and can offer some advice.....

Recently sent a parcel to a customer in The Netherlands (Quite high value item). I Had a call yesterday to say he ordered the wrong item and needs to send it back to exchange for the correct item. I have no issue with swapping the item, although since Brexit I have not had to exchange anything for a customer outside the UK so how does it work with customs charges? Obviously the customer has already paid import tax on the original import so should not have to pay twice. The value of the exchange item is exactly the same as the one he wants to send back. Also I paid import charges from my supplier when I ordered the stock so I dont want to be charged again just to accept a returned item.

I did call HMRC advice line yesterday and basically got told "You will have to pay the charges again" but I genuinely dont see how this can be correct. Has anyone else had this situation and how did you deal with it? Basically how to I exchange this item without any additional tax charges?

Thank you

 

[Customs Geek]

Hi

Any goods arriving in the UK will be subject to import duty and import VAT as if it is a new import. This is because goods lose their uk free circulation or duty paid status once they leave the country.
If however you can prove you exported the item previously then it is possible to claim returned goods relief . You will need to specifically ask the clearance agent to do this and provide them with details of the export declaration.

There are similar rules in the EU so your customer may well be charged import taxes again on the replacement item. They will also need to claim returned goods relief and prove export from the Netherlands to get duty relief.
If the goods have not yet been exported then they should be able to get a duty refund as either faulty goods or rejected e commerce goods. They will need to check with the Dutch authorities what the procedure is for this.

Unfortunately customs authorities don’t just take someones word that they have paid duty previously.

 

[N/A]

Hi

Any goods arriving in the UK will be subject to import duty and import VAT as if it is a new import. This is because goods lose their uk free circulation or duty paid status once they leave the country.
If however you can prove you exported the item previously then it is possible to claim returned goods relief . You will need to specifically ask the clearance agent to do this and provide them with details of the export declaration.

There are similar rules in the EU so your customer may well be charged import taxes again on the replacement item. They will also need to claim returned goods relief and prove export from the Netherlands to get duty relief.
If the goods have not yet been exported then they should be able to get a duty refund as either faulty goods or rejected e commerce goods. They will need to check with the Dutch authorities what the procedure is for this.

Unfortunately customs authorities don’t just take someones word that they have paid duty previously.

Thank you for your reply. This makes sense and its no problem proving the original export etc. I just thought there would be a process in place to provide a specific code or something (Like a commodity code to tell customs the reason for the import / export) along with reference to the original export to prevent any charges being applied as it would be a lot more hassle and expense to pay the charges first and have to jump through hoops to claim it back after, Customs must be aware that overseas customers sometimes need to return or exchange items so there should be a simplified process in place.

 

[Customs Geek]

Hi
Yes there is a specific customs procedure code that tells HMRC what type of import it is and therefore the tax treatment. If you ask for returned goods your customs agent should understand how to declare that. I was trying to keep my answer as simple as possible.
Under returned goods the tax isn’t charged but relieved so there’s nothing for you to claim back.

 

[N/A]

Hi
Yes there is a specific customs procedure code that tells HMRC what type of import it is and therefore the tax treatment. If you ask for returned goods your customs agent should understand how to declare that. I was trying to keep my answer as simple as possible.
Under returned goods the tax isn’t charged but relieved so there’s nothing for you to claim back.

Perfect! Exacrtly what I was hoping for.

The problem is I have already spoken to DPD (The original company used to export) and HMRC directly to try getting some answers and both are clueless. HMRC literally said "You`ll have to pay the taxes again" and DPD have no idea as they dont use their own customs clearance hubs.

I dont have a specific customs agent, I just use DPD or UPS when I send things into Europe so they handle customs proceedures.

 

[Customs Geek]

Hi

DPD or UPS do their own customs clearance so it should be possible to add the request or ask your customer to say the goods are being returned. That said the courier companies are a law to themselves if there’s anything out of the ordinary.

 

[japancool]

The email you need for UPS is: [email protected]

Can't help you with DPD though.