[IainJohnston]

Not being “political” here, so no “misinterpretations”, OK?

There’s furore being unleashed in the UK right now
(ref “the William Shatner merchandise” situation, and also now UK Govt import new guidelines from 1/1/21, published today).

It would seem that thanks to “Brexit” conditions after 31st December, there will be major “red tape” being applied to ANYONE outside the UK
wishing to sell their “products” into the UK. e.g. the overseas entity looks like being forced to have a licence to “export” to the UK, and
have to extract UK VAT (Value Added Tax) up front IN THE OVERSEAS COUNTRY from the UK customer at purchase time, and PAY that VAT
to the UK HMRC (“The Revenue”). And all the bureaucracy that will go with the this, to be incurred by the overseas supplier, and to be somehow
“met” by the UK customer.

And POSSIBLY, the overseas supplier being “unable” to provide the product to even individual person UK customers without even having
a “importer to the UK licence” and all the paperwork & fixed and every-time expenses that would entail.

All being imposed by the UK Government (NOT the EU or any other non-UK entity I must emphasise) upon the EU AND the rest of the world.

So if I want a JAM Personal Cut (or indeed anything from ANY non-UK jingle company), would they be forced to have a UK import
& Tax licence and all the rest of this malarky, or would JAM simply have to say “Sorry everyone, you’ll have to get S2Blue to do it!”
because the beaurocratic “overhead” would be too much to carry?

{And possibly there could be licensing & royalty problems ahead for e.g. JAM in the other direction FROM the UK to the USA?}

[martinlesterMember]

Or Just get a USA Address and as everything is sent Digital should be the end of it

otherwise if Jingle companies have to add on 20% to all orders we won’t be hearing many new Jingles from USA anymore

But the William Shatner is goods sent in Post so not sure this would apply as Jingles are not Physical Goods

As part of the process of aligning how the UK treats EU and non-EU goods being imported into the UK post 31 December 2020, HMRC have launched a consultation as to how the movements of goods worth less than £135 in value are treated for VAT purposes when they cross the UK border for sale to UK consumers. These types of goods are typically sold via Online Market Places (OMP) such as eBay and Amazon or via the seller’s website directly to consumers. At present goods imported into the UK under £15 in value are exempt from both Import VAT and customs duty – the so-called Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR). Goods over £15 but not more than £135 in value attract only Import VAT and not customs duty.

HMRC has announced that it will abolish the LVCR with effect from 1 January 2021 and are proposing to make all imported goods up to £135 in value liable for domestic VAT rather than Import VAT – thus shifting the point where VAT is collected from the time of importation to the time of supply to the customer.

The proposals could have significant impact for OMP and for delivery agents (such as the Royal Mail, DHL, FedEx and alike).

Firstly, where the goods are sold via an OMP, the obligation to account for VAT will shift to the OMP operator (and not the actual seller). The OMP will be obliged to collect and account for the VAT to HMRC on the sale to consumers. This measure is similar to the Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme (FHDDS) that was launched last year by HMRC which puts the onus on fulfilment houses (again like Amazon and others) to police and verify that traders using their fulfilment facilities are registered for UK VAT. In certain circumstances the fulfilment house can be held jointly liable for the VAT on the seller’s goods.

For traders not using an OMP, but selling goods up to the value of £135 directly to consumers via their own websites, they will be liable to register and account for UK VAT. It will no longer be possible for the delivery agent to collect the Import VAT from the consumer. Instead domestic VAT will be due, and this will extend to cover sales of EU imports and sales currently excluded under the £15 low value consignment relief. It is expected that delivery agents will need to have systems in place to identify if the seller is VAT registered and accounting for the correct amount of VAT. They may also be required to spot false valuations and mis-descriptions, as well any goods liable to excise duty and other transactions, such as private sales and gifts that will have a different VAT treatment.

[Author]

Posts