Before Brexit
Before Brexit, we would charge customers in the EU UK VAT (Value Added Tax) at 20% when they placed their order on the Grand Illusions web site. Their order would then be delivered to their door without any further issues or payments.
After Brexit
After Brexit, we stopped charging EU customers VAT. Instead, they had to pay the VAT in their own country. Although the EU customer had to be contacted in order to make this payment, meaning there was an additional level of administration especially if the courier had problems contacting the customer, EU VAT rates are not that different from the UK rate.
However, there was also an extra cost to the process, the so-called ‘handling charge’. This varied in amount, but some customers were charged two separate handling charges, which were sometimes very high. It often made it very uneconomic, especially for smaller orders.
The IOSS Scheme
Grand Illusions is now operating the post Brexit IOSS (Import One Stop Shop) scheme. How does this work? Provided the value of the goods (excluding shipping costs) you order from us is not more than EUROS 150, then we will charge you the rate of VAT in force in your country when you place your order. So, if you place an order from Germany, we will charge you the German rate of VAT. Your order will then be shipped directly to you, and there will be no delays or anything further to pay, since you have already paid the VAT. This means no handling charges! Our web site will also charge you the correct rate of VAT if you order a book – the VAT rate on books is often different to the rate of VAT on other goods.
If you place an order where the goods are over EUROS 150 in value, then you will not be charged any VAT when you place your order. Instead you will have to pay this in your country before you can receive the goods. There is likely to also be a handling charge. The reason for this is that above EUROS 150, there may be an additional charge by customs, which is duty. The items we sell generally have low rates of duty, often around 2%, so this should not be too expensive.
We hope that this will greatly simplify the process of ordering items from us if you are based in the EU.
Hendrik Ball
www.grand-illusions.com
