UK TAX & DUTY REQUIREMENTS

VAT

Retailers shipping customer orders to the UK are obliged to pay VAT, on the full sale price of the taxable goods or services, to the UK government.  The standard VAT rate is currently 20%.

CUSTOMS DUTY

The UK charges customs duty on parcels shipped by retailers from outside the UK valued over 135GBP.  Customs Duty is charged on the sale price of the goods plus freight. The rate charged varies depending on the type of goods and their origin.  Customs Duty is payable on excise goods of any value (e.g. alcohol, tobacco).

As the seller of the goods, you’ll need to:

• Register for VAT

  As per the UK Government website, retailers that are not UK-based must register for VAT as soon as they supply taxable goods and services to the UK or intend to do so within the next 30 days.

• Collect Taxes and Duties

  SEKO suggests retailers collect this VAT from customers at shopping cart level.  An example of platforms to facilitate these services are Zonos, Shopify, Eurora and Avalara. Retailers can then use a DDP service to maximise customer experience.

With SEKO, retailers have the following UK service options...

For parcels valued under 135GBP, VAT will be calculated by UK authorities upon entry and will be payable by the retailer quarterly upon submission of the VAT statement.

For parcels valued over 135GBP, the retailer has the following options:

SEKO Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU/DAP)

Each parcel being shipped to the UK will be stopped by SEKO at origin (Sydney).  The retailer's customer will be notified of the duties and taxes payable via an email notification with a payment link.  Upon payment the item will be released by SEKO and forwarded directly to the end customer.

SEKO Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)

Duties and taxes applicable to each parcel shipped will be calculated at border-level and invoiced to the retailer.  The parcels shipped will not be stopped.

SEKO suggests retailers collect duties and VAT from customers at shopping cart level for transparency and a better customer experience.

Retailers will need to provide their VAT number to SEKO before shipping to the UK can commence.