Trying to understand VAT!

[pooroldcodger]

Are there any accountants out there?
If I as a small business which is not registered for vat I send a parcel within the EU, and say the fee for sending the parcel is £20, I then also pay 20% vat on top, so therefore pay £24 in total.
If I send the same parcel to USA (or anywhere outside the EU) and the fee is say, £80, should I also be paying vat on top of that or not? I am getting conflicting advice from different companies and as I can't reclaim it, it makes a big difference.
This is nothing to do with the goods inside the carton, or the receiver's charges at the other end, it is just for the carriage charges I am asking about.
If it is going outside the EU do I get charged vat?

 

[g8rpi]

Are there any accountants out there?
If I as a small business which is not registered for vat I send a parcel within the EU, and say the fee for sending the parcel is £20, I then also pay 20% vat on top, so therefore pay £24 in total.
If I send the same parcel to USA (or anywhere outside the EU) and the fee is say, £80, should I also be paying vat on top of that or not? I am getting conflicting advice from different companies and as I can't reclaim it, it makes a big difference.
This is nothing to do with the goods inside the carton, or the receiver's charges at the other end, it is just for the carriage charges I am asking about.
If it is going outside the EU do I get charged vat?

I'm not an accountant, but send a lot of stuff to the USA. You are paying for a service that starts and is charged in the UK so VAT IS applicable, you have to pay it. If the service is "over the counter" the VAT will be included in the advertised price. If it was a commercial service the VAT may be listed separately to make it easier for those companies who can claim it back. As you are not VAT registered you can't claim the VAT back.


Just to be clear, even if you were registered for VAT, you would still have to pay it up front, but would be able to claim it back (or deduct it from any VAT your business charged before paying it to HMRC).

HTH,
Robert G8RPI.

 

[rallycinq]

If it is going outside the EU do I get charged vat?

Yes, because the 'supply of goods or service' originates within the UK with a UK Company and a UK invoice.

D

 

[pooroldcodger]

Thanks for the replies . I understand the concept of it being a service sold by a UK company and therefore VAT applies to that service, and also that unless you are registered for vat you obviously can't reclaim it. That's all good.
However, I have looked back at invoices from third party brokers such as Interparcel, and they show vat on parcels sent within the EU, but on parcels outside the EU they enter £0.00 under the vat column. So if they are charging vat then they are not showing it as vat. Also I have spoken to TNT this morning, and having sought higher advice the lady there told me that if the parcel is for outside the EU then we would not be charged vat.
I also have a recent invoice for a parcel to Turkey via TNT and again VAT is shown as £0.00.
But another company - Parcel Hero say that it is charged and is included in the price.
So I am puzzled!

 

[portland_bill]

Don't use Parcel Hero then!

 

[dave]

i am also a non vat sole trader so never looked at the vat before as customer always pays the postage cost anyway.

just looked and i get the same no vat for outside eu

 

[Palio]

If you really want to know..........!

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...44b-freight-transport-and-associated-services

And yes, it is that complicated! It will depend on who the customer is, where they are based, whether they are a business, who the carrier is & where they are based, and what countries are visited. Above all, it depends on how they've interpreted it, right or wrong