>>>>>>Duty & VAT to U.K from Barneys HELP!!!!

heychar

❤️
O.G.
Sep 16, 2008
10,004
142
Hi all,

Hope someone here can help me...

I wanted to order the Lady Peep from Barneys website to UK the exchange rate works out to £639 for these shoes they are usually £495 here in U.K... then they added shipping and Duty & VAT the total came to about £950... what in the world happened??? and then a possible custom charge! Yikes :faint:
 
It's the usual perils of shopping from US websites when you're in the UK, unfortunately. I assume the exchange rate is determined by the store, so it may not be the most competitive.

As for taxes, the goods will have to be assessed to both customs/excise duty and VAT when they enter the UK under our tax laws, so some stores will calculate the price inclusive of these liabilities for you. If this is what Barneys has done (which is what seems to have happened) there shouldn't be any additional customs charges later (so I'm not sure what you mean about a 'possible customs charge' on top of what you've been quoted).

Some stores don't add the VAT and customs duties at checkout - generally the shipper will then charge you and pay the amounts to HM Revenue and Customs on your behalf. In both cases I expect there will be a handling charge for them doing this on your behalf - Royal Mail, for example, is a flat £8.

I assume shoes are standard rated for VAT purposes, so an additional 20% applies straight away, and then there will be duty as well (I think rates can vary so not sure what it would be).
 
It's the usual perils of shopping from US websites when you're in the UK, unfortunately. I assume the exchange rate is determined by the store, so it may not be the most competitive.

As for taxes, the goods will have to be assessed to both customs/excise duty and VAT when they enter the UK under our tax laws, so some stores will calculate the price inclusive of these liabilities for you. If this is what Barneys has done (which is what seems to have happened) there shouldn't be any additional customs charges later (so I'm not sure what you mean about a 'possible customs charge' on top of what you've been quoted).

Some stores don't add the VAT and customs duties at checkout - generally the shipper will then charge you and pay the amounts to HM Revenue and Customs on your behalf. In both cases I expect there will be a handling charge for them doing this on your behalf - Royal Mail, for example, is a flat £8.

I assume shoes are standard rated for VAT purposes, so an additional 20% applies straight away, and then there will be duty as well (I think rates can vary so not sure what it would be).

Thank you for your reply Wordsworth! i'm so anxious right now! as I want to buy them but the price hike is so much, but then nowhere in the UK sells this colour and they are a limited colour...and then no Paris stores are answering the phones today! I assume they would be cheaper from Paris to UK!
...but just to clarify my understanding of this ...I would not have to pay additional custom charges on top of this Duty & VAT charge once they get here??
 
Thank you for your reply Wordsworth! i'm so anxious right now! as I want to buy them but the price hike is so much, but then nowhere in the UK sells this colour and they are a limited colour...and then no Paris stores are answering the phones today! I assume they would be cheaper from Paris to UK!
...but just to clarify my understanding of this ...I would not have to pay additional custom charges on top of this Duty & VAT charge once they get here??

If Barneys are including the duty and the VAT in the price they're quoting you, then that should take care of it and you shouldn't have to pay anything else. Those are the two amounts that get added at UK customs.

If you look at "Goods ordered online from outside the EU" under "Check the total purchase price of online goods" on the HMRC website link below, you'll see they talk about arrangements with retailers where you pay them the VAT and they pay it on. The info you've given suggests Barneys have such arrangements. You could always email Barneys to check if you wanted to be sure.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/internet.htm
 
If Barneys are including the duty and the VAT in the price they're quoting you, then that should take care of it and you shouldn't have to pay anything else. Those are the two amounts that get added at UK customs.

If you look at "Goods ordered online from outside the EU" under "Check the total purchase price of online goods" on the HMRC website link below, you'll see they talk about arrangements with retailers where you pay them the VAT and they pay it on. The info you've given suggests Barneys have such arrangements. You could always email them to check if you wanted to be sure.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/internet.htm

Than you for all the info :hugs:
...I think im going to have to pass on these as I would ultimately be paying double the amount that they would cost here in the UK from ..say Selfridges or Harvey Nichols! :crybaby: