Post-Brexit - buying bike parts abroad . . (incl. Rose/DutchBikeParts)

[LittleGreyCat]

Nobody seems to have mentioned yet that the same rules are being implemented by the EU later this year.

The aim is to stem the enormous amount of VAT evasion by Chinese firms who ship directly to European customers but dodge the VAT.
Thus making their products cheaper than European (now EU/UK) products and creating unfair competition.

Small manufacturers/suppliers who export to the EU/UK will get caught up in this sledgehammer approach and will suffer unduly.
However as far as I can see this isn't a childish and spiteful move between EU/UK but just collateral damage.

Yes, if we were still in the EU we wouldn't be seeing this for any sales from within the rest of the EU.
This is all part of being out on your own in the big wide world.
Nevertheless the main culprit is China.

[PH]

Nobody seems to have mentioned yet that the same rules are being implemented by the EU later this year.

What same rules? Are Chinese retailers going to collect VAT for the EU and pass it on?
The VAT on non EU imports over some small value(£15?) has always been chargeable, as well as China I've paid it on imports from Japan, USA and Taiwan.

[wheelyhappy99]

FWIW, three companies (not all bike businesses) that I have bought from previously say they will no longer sell to individuals in the UK. See below text from one of them explaining why:

At this moment we are registered for VAT MOSS, which means that we pay the Dutch tax inspection and the Dutch tax inspection sends the VAT to all the countries from where the purchase was made. UK will also leave this VAT MOSS system and require companies who sell digital services to register for the VAT in the UK. Unlike other countries outside the EU, the UK requires our company to register for the British VAT in order to be able to ship goods from a commercial organisation. The amount of administrative work and hassle is just too much for the amount of books that we ship to the UK.

[De Sisti]

I ordered some glasses from a company in Italy at 20:00 on 31st December. Their comformatory email
quotes a delivery date of 12 January 2021. I wonder if they will honour, or cancel it?

[Jdsk]

My guess is that they'll arrive as previously because none of the new processes and systems are up and running.

Jonathan

PS: Did you go for a drive first to check that you really need them? ; - )

[reohn2]

Sorry I missed this one

On a tangent, R2 raised the issue of motorcycle parts costing more if bought from a UK supplier. But why is that so? Is it business rates, property rents, or what? I don't imagine Spa are ripping people off, so how are Dutch or German suppliers able to undercut them?

I don't know the answer to that question which I've asked myself before,but whatever it is it favoured the individual buyer across the EU,now it doesn't because we've left the EU.As I posted before the UK now has a captive consumer,not because stuff is more expensive from the EU but apparently(see the post by wheelyhappy99) because of the Uk's instance that for EU retailers to supply goods to UK individuals,they have to register for VAT in the UK.
As someone else posted that's one heckova deal
Sovereignty to add cost to living that wasn'tthere before?

BTW I recognise that people prefer to buy from UK businesses,I would myself and do when the price difference isn't silly,but when there's so much difference in price(a third less from a Dutch company in the crash bars case) there's no contest.
It's been the same with many bicycle parts I've bought from Rose or Bike24 over the years,where the price difference has been huge or worse still nowhere in the UK stocks parts I've wanted which has forced me to seek parts from EU companies.

[Bmblbzzz]

Thanks J, I will look at that later. Currently engaged in the eating of crumpets.

Now there's an idea worth copying!

[Bmblbzzz]

Nobody seems to have mentioned yet that the same rules are being implemented by the EU later this year.

What same rules? Are Chinese retailers going to collect VAT for the EU and pass it on?
The VAT on non EU imports over some small value(£15?) has always been chargeable, as well as China I've paid it on imports from Japan, USA and Taiwan.

Yes, they are. Including (unless they ignore the rule and chance it) Syd's Belarussian watch supplier (supposing the watch is worth less than £135 or whatever the limit is in Euros). I think it's a bad rule, but what might be worth doing once for a market of ~400 million might not be worth doing again for a market of ~65 million.

[jgurney]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55530721 'EU firms refuse UK deliveries over Brexit tax changes'

"Bicycle part firm Dutch Bike Bits said from now on, it would ship to every country in the world except the UK. 'We are forced by British policy to stop dealing with British customers,' it said on its website."

"The moves follow changes in VAT rules brought in by HM Revenue and Customs on 1 January. VAT is now being collected at the point of sale rather than at the point of importation, a change that HMRC says will ensure that goods from EU and non-EU countries are treated in the same way. This essentially means that overseas retailers sending goods to the UK are expected to register for UK VAT and account for it to HMRC if the sale value is less than €150 (£135).
'For providing this service, [HMRC] intend to charge a fee to every company in the world in every country in the world which exports to the UK,' said Dutch Bike Bits on its website. 'Clearly this is ludicrous for one country, but imagine if every country in the world had the same idea. If every country decided to behave in the same way, then we would have to pay 195 fees every year, keep up with the changes in taxation law for 195 different countries, keep accounts on behalf of 195 different countries and submit payments to 195 tax offices in 195 different countries, and jump through whatever hoops were required to prove that we were doing all of this honestly and without any error.'
Dutch Bike Bits said it had many customers within the UK and would like to be able to trade with them. 'Not being able to send parcels to the UK does not work in any way in our favour and it is not what we wanted,' the firm added. 'If you're angry about this, and you may well be so, please contact your elected representative in the UK."

[markjohnobrien]

Good news: one of my favourite continental suppliers is shipping again to Britain.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/info/in ... tomers-327

The demerit, though, is that orders have to be £160 or above (and the link goes into more detail).

But as the prices are so cheap on many items, it may be worthwhile to do a bulk order.

[st599_uk]

Good news: one of my favourite continental suppliers is shipping again to Britain.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/info/in ... tomers-327

The demerit, though, is that orders have to be £160 or above (and the link goes into more detail).

8F375811-BDB3-445D-B3FE-32BFFA6857DF.png

But as the prices are so cheap on many items, it may be worthwhile to do a bulk order.

Over £135 means that the courier does the import VAT collection, not the supplier.

[Nigel]

Good news: one of my favourite continental suppliers is shipping again to Britain.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/info/in ... tomers-327

The demerit, though, is that orders have to be £160 or above (and the link goes into more detail).

8F375811-BDB3-445D-B3FE-32BFFA6857DF.png

But as the prices are so cheap on many items, it may be worthwhile to do a bulk order.

Over £135 means that the courier does the import VAT collection, not the supplier.

Indeed - factor in UK VAT bill of 20% of the total value, plus a collection fee of somewhere around £8-£15 depending on the courier/post used. Then decide if the price is acceptable.


- Nigel

[SA_SA_SA]

But unless your buying a big order the often dearer european postage is a disincentive vs uk mail order anyway or at least for me it is , especially for rear lamps..

[Jdsk]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55530721 'EU firms refuse UK deliveries over Brexit tax changes'

And as well as the tax issues includes:

"At the same time, international shipping companies including Federal Express and TNT have said they are levying additional charges on shipments between the UK and the EU.
They said this reflected the increased investment they had had to make in adjusting their systems to cope with Brexit."

Jonathan

[L+1]

Could anyone tell me if bike-components.de had actually de-listed UK from its delivery destinations over the New Year/Brexit Agreement period?
I’m saddened to see that Extremtextil the German supplier of specialist outdoor fabrics, beloved of MYOG fans, is displaying a notice that UK is no longer a legitimate delivery address. I’ve emailed them to ask if they think they will re-instate deliveries to UK or if they would consider implementing the ‘over £135’ rule.

Yes, these would be expensive purchases but sometimes projects require technical materials - much the same as cycling. Who would be happy with some random BSO instead of the bikes we have chosen?
Is this VAT collection rule an absolutely fixed part of the Brexit agreement or might it be re-negotiated?