On Friday, 14 May 2021 at 09:32:15 UTC+1, Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote:
One might have expected that the seller would have added the tax to the bill
as that is how vat etc is supposed to work.
Brian

If you sold or even made a present of one of your possessions to someone in another country, would you know what the proper procedures are for that country? And how would you charge VAT - if it were applicable?

The under-£135 rules that the vendor charges VAT at the destination country's rate - and remit that VAT to HMRC if sending to the UK, can only work smoothly if the vendor is registered in the destination country. Which is why so many will no longer send things to the UK. The cost and effort of registering and making sure your procedures are properly implemented is a significant overhead.

In general, big companies can do this. Shopping gateways like Etsy can do this. But one-man-or-woman-and-a-dog outfits really can't. Hence, if they did send something, it would be assessed and VAT charged as it goes through Customs. With the attendant extra costs.