Importing a product into the UK for sale?

[TW]Fox · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:08

You don't need knowledge! You had a plain English block of text you quoted! It told you EXACTLY what the VAT and duty was - £14.91 - yet you asked us if it meant the VAT was £89!?

I know nothing about space rockets but if somebody said 'A space rocket costs £1bn' I'd know right away that a space rocket cots £1bn without any knowledge of the field.

Ewaf · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:12

[TW]Fox;19393925 said:
You don't need knowledge! You had a plain English block of text you quoted! It told you EXACTLY what the VAT and duty was - £14.91 - yet you asked us if it meant the VAT was £89!?

I know nothing about space rockets but if somebody said 'A space rocket costs £1bn' I'd know right away that a space rocket cots £1bn without any knowledge of the field.

Yes it said the tax was £14.91, and I wasn't sure on the term Total Landing Cost which was £89, I didn't know if any other tax/duty was also added to bring it to that price? What's the problem?

valve90210 · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:24

This item that you reckon 95% of people on the forum would want...it's not the thing Pinter75 invented is it...

(http://91.151.218.11/showthread.php?t=18192730&highlight=username_Pinter75)

I'm sure he claimed something like 95% of forum users would want one...lol

Ewaf · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:26

valve90210 said:
This item that you reckon 95% of people on the forum would want...it's not the thing Pinter75 invented is it...

(http://91.151.218.11/showthread.php?t=18192730&highlight=username_Pinter75)

I'm sure he claimed something like 95% of forum users would want one...lol

Lol no it isn't. Although I do really want to know what hes made...

oweneades · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:26

Ewaf said:
Yes it said the tax was £14.91, and I wasn't sure on the term Total Landing Cost which was £89, I didn't know if any other tax/duty was also added to bring it to that price? What's the problem?

Total landing cost is literally the total cost you will pay for importing these items into the UK.

The other numbers shown are a breakdown of what makes up that cost. VAT is calculated on the Total customs value which in this case will be the base cost plus shipping into the EU. The duty rate (based on the origin and tariff code of the product being imported) must be 0% otherwise you would see that adding up to the total customs value as well.

Essentially you have:

Base Cost
+ Shipping / Freight
+ Insurance (if applicable)
Sub total of above
+ Duty on above to give Total Customs value
Total Cutoms value

VAT on Total Customs value (yes if you paid duty you are being taxed twice)

Total Landing cost

This is a very brief breakdown of how the import calculation has been worked out. In practice there are a lot more complexities but in your case you don't need to worry about them.

wonder_lander · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:29

I would also consider using eBay as an outlet before setting up your own website. You've got a ready made buyers market that's easy to tap into. Sure there are fees for both eBay and Paypal but if you are doing you own site you've got payment gateway fees etc to worry about.

If it all takes off then certainly add a dedicated website but don't underestimate the power of the bay!

valve90210 · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:29

Ewaf said:
Lol no it isn't. Although I do really want to know what hes made...

Don't we all....

Good luck if you do go for it with this product.

I was in a similar situation a while ago with a us product that wasn't available over here...but couldn't be bothered to do anything about it...lol

Strife212 · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:32

He's not setting up Tescos, he's just buying and reselling some small items :/

Ewaf · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:34

oweneades said:
Number Crunching

Thank you for this, makes it much easier to understand

I had thought about prehaps whacking them on ebay first before taking the plunge to see how they are received. Only problem is I dont have an ebay account so no feedback yet or anything, may deter people slightly.

Participant · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:46

vonhelmet said:
This stuff is easy when you just make it up!

What am I making up? The £4k or the £100? Or both? Like I said, iirc...debunking things without giving the true situation is also easy, so if you have some useful contribution, then feel free to impart it oh great one!

gord said:
Are you kidding?

No I am not.

gord said:
Once they find out you've tried to defraud the government they go into full inspection overload. Everything you've ever done is checked to make sure you've been paying your tax.

That said, you do legally have a 3 month window from the start of trading before you need to register yourself as self employed. If it doesn't take off then you can close it down and just register the small amount you did earn as part of your tax code, then it is accounted and paid for.

If you really want good advice, ring the HMRC. They are there to help and answered all my questions when I rang a few weeks ago.

'Hi HMRC, should I register for self assessment? I'm planning to sell ten fluffy toys on Ebay'.

'Yes, yes you should'.

If you want by the book advice then yes, ring HMRC. If you want to keep things sensible and realistic, don't bother registering. You'll only flog £500 worth of stuff, give up, and be filling out forms for the rest of your life.

Tefal · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:49

so once you've imported it will you tell us what it is?

other wise i say ban for lack of closure.

Van Hellseek · 17 Jun 2011 at 13:52

Robbie G said:
Not if the product is exclusive to one supplier and that supplier agrees to give him exclusive UK distribution rights.

And how likely is that? :rolleyes:

gord · 17 Jun 2011 at 14:12

Robbie G said:
If you want by the book advice then yes, ring HMRC. If you want to keep things sensible and realistic, don't bother registering. You'll only flog £500 worth of stuff, give up, and be filling out forms for the rest of your life.

You could have just agreed with my second paragraph, it would have been easier and faster.

Vonhelmet · 17 Jun 2011 at 14:36

Robbie G said:
What am I making up? The £4k or the £100? Or both? Like I said, iirc...debunking things without giving the true situation is also easy, so if you have some useful contribution, then feel free to impart it oh great one!

£4k and £100.

There's a £100 late filing penalty for personal tax returns and corporation tax returns? Nothing to do with £4k that I can think of.

iviv · 17 Jun 2011 at 16:58

Ewaf said:
Yes it said the tax was £14.91, and I wasn't sure on the term Total Landing Cost which was £89, I didn't know if any other tax/duty was also added to bring it to that price? What's the problem?

Total customs value: £74.56
Import duty: £0.00
Import VAT: £14.91
Total import duty & VAT due: £14.91
Total landed cost: £89.47 at USD/GBP exchange rate of 0.6213

VAT is £14.91
Customs value is £74.56
Add them both together and you get the total cost: £89.47

Participant · 19 Jun 2011 at 15:56

vonhelmet said:
This stuff is easy when you just make it up!

vonhelmet said:
£4k and £100.

There's a £100 late filing penalty for personal tax returns and corporation tax returns? Nothing to do with £4k that I can think of.

Meh. The £100 fee is in relation to late registration for Class 2 NI it seems. Anyway on the subject of making stuff up, it seems that you're a dab hand at that yourself: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=19329000&postcount=13.

vonhelmet said:
c) They produce exempt or zero rated supplies so they don't charge VAT, but they use taxable supplies and thus have to pay VAT to their suppliers, and they would like to recover that VAT

Easy indeed!