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So, how does this work as compared to how it was before. If I mailed some merchandise to the UK from outside the EU in the past, it would be charged VAT at 20%,

So, how does this work as compared to how it was before. If I mailed some merchandise to the UK from outside the EU in the past, it would be charged VAT at 20%, payable by the customer. Is this still true for businesses who aren’t interested in dealing with HMRC?

AnssiH 6y ago
AFAIK we don't know how they deal with non-compliant packages yet. But they are not mandating any kind of identifier on UK-inbound packages to say "VAT already paid on this package", so I don't see how they could even identify non-compliant packages.
- Daniel_sk 6y ago
  All UK packages received in EU will go through customs office and you will pay VAT + processing fee (depends on the delivery company). This is for all packages, no minimum value exceptions. I know I will be avoiding UK e-shops due to this.
  - AnssiH 6y ago
    Most EU countries still have the 22 EUR low value threshold. The directive changes to remove that threshold will apply from 2021-07-01, and starting from that date the sellers and marketplaces will be able to handle the VAT for you so no need to pay anything upon delivery (similar to the UK scheme in the OP, but not mandatory for sellers). Also, e.g. Amazon.co.uk already charges VAT in checkout ("Import Fees Deposit") for EU customers so there will be no customs charges on delivery. (They manage this by having the carriers bill sender for VAT or by importing the items to EU themselves first.)
    - Daniel_sk 6y ago
      I hope it will be like that. But small sellers or eBay private sellers will not bother with this.
      - AnssiH 6y ago
        I'd guess eBay will enter the scheme as a marketplace, so eBay sellers themselves won't need to bother.