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Tariffs between EU countries

post #1 of 34
9/10/11 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys - not sure if this is the right forum, but for you EU guys do you have to pay tariffs if you purchase from other EU countries? For those who are in the clothing trade and based within the EU, are there tariffs if you import clothing from Italy?
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post #2 of 34
9/10/11 at 4:58pm
No there are no duties on moving goods around the EU.
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post #3 of 34
9/10/11 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
I thought I had heard that, but didn't know for sure. Thanks for confirming. I assume this applies to wholesale as well as eCommerce retail? So if I'm importing stuff from Italy, I will not have to pay any duties - only shipping to the UK?

Yes, eHABERDASHER is looking to establish a presence in Europe - possibly the England! icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif
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post #4 of 34
9/10/11 at 6:10pm
A couple of links for you:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs/customs_duties/index_en.htm

and more pragmatic info:

http://www.dhl.co.uk/en/express/shipping/customs_support/duties_taxes.html

and for a business with a satellite in the UK:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073790604&type=RESOURCES

Hope that helps.

M.

edited as links weren't showing!
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post #5 of 34
9/10/11 at 10:03pm
The only thing you should be paying is shipping plus likely bank fees depending on payments.

The UK is outside the Euro so you'll have currency hassles. Look into getting an Euro bank account that can take SEPA (Single Euro payment area) transfers. The SEPA are normally free for both sender receiver if done online. They have a fairly high limit. I can't remember if it's 12 or 50K. Saves credit card fees.
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post #6 of 34
9/11/11 at 2:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicola View Post

The only thing you should be paying is shipping plus likely bank fees depending on payments.

The UK is outside the Euro so you'll have currency hassles. Look into getting an Euro bank account that can take SEPA (Single Euro payment area) transfers. The SEPA are normally free for both sender receiver if done online. They have a fairly high limit. I can't remember if it's 12 or 50K. Saves credit card fees.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eHaberdasher View Post

I thought I had heard that, but didn't know for sure. Thanks for confirming. I assume this applies to wholesale as well as eCommerce retail? So if I'm importing stuff from Italy, I will not have to pay any duties - only shipping to the UK?

Yes, eHABERDASHER is looking to establish a presence in Europe - possibly the England! icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif

this is some fantastic news. icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif

i don't know your business model, but within the eu you have an immense spectrum of business-friendliness in terms of regulatory and tax policies. it may pay off to look at someplace more exotic...
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post #7 of 34
9/11/11 at 3:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eHaberdasher View Post

I thought I had heard that, but didn't know for sure. Thanks for confirming. I assume this applies to wholesale as well as eCommerce retail? So if I'm importing stuff from Italy, I will not have to pay any duties - only shipping to the UK?

Yes, eHABERDASHER is looking to establish a presence in Europe - possibly the England! icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif

Good news! I feel stupid ordering goods that have been made in Italy or sometimes even the UK from American websites but they're usually more expensive here or impossible to find at all. You'll fill a big empty niche!

Yup pretty sure the no duty thing applies to wholesale too. Though as freedom_fries says there are other thing to consider too. Some UK eCommerce sites seem to be based in Jersey for instance, because corporation tax is low (non-existant?) as is income tax, (20% I think) but postage to the UK is the same price as within the mainland. Others seem to be based in Luxembourg, I guess for similar reasons.
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post #8 of 34
9/11/11 at 3:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eHaberdasher View Post

I thought I had heard that, but didn't know for sure. Thanks for confirming. I assume this applies to wholesale as well as eCommerce retail? So if I'm importing stuff from Italy, I will not have to pay any duties - only shipping to the UK?

Yes, eHABERDASHER is looking to establish a presence in Europe - possibly the England! icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif

Excellent news, as ETF said, there really is a niche in the UK for decently priced Italian wares. Should do well.
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post #9 of 34
9/11/11 at 4:03am


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by E,TF View Post

Yup pretty sure the no duty thing applies to wholesale too. Though as freedom_fries says there are other thing to consider too. Some UK eCommerce sites seem to be based in Jersey for instance, because corporation tax is low (non-existant?) as is income tax, (20% I think) but postage to the UK is the same price as within the mainland. 

When it comes to retailing to rest of the EU, Jersey and the other sneaky little islands are treated like non-EU area. This is nice when you are ordering some low value items, like some grooming products, you can get them tax-free, but when the customs margins break, it is like ordering outside EU. So the buyer located in some other EU country instead of paying the UK 20% VAT (15% is the minimum "basic" VAT according to EU rules) at the moment when he buys the item, will end up paying his own country's VAT% and all the possible additional customs fees they might come up with, which can in some countries push it to closer 50%. Also sending ties for example through Royal Mail with the recipient signature taking to other EU countries costs 6 pounds or slightly more, which is much nicer than 30 dollar USPS priority mail international, so UK is probably good option.


Edited by Teemu - 9/11/11 at 4:21am
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post #10 of 34
9/11/11 at 4:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eHaberdasher View Post

I thought I had heard that, but didn't know for sure. Thanks for confirming. I assume this applies to wholesale as well as eCommerce retail? So if I'm importing stuff from Italy, I will not have to pay any duties - only shipping to the UK?

Yes, eHABERDASHER is looking to establish a presence in Europe - possibly the England! icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif

I hope all goes well with your plans, there needs to be more decent online menswear retailers in Europe, I always shy away from ordering from the US because of the huge import taxes I would have to pay here in Sweden.
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post #11 of 34
9/11/11 at 5:12am
Pfff, come to the mainland instead of the UK, and set up in Belgium. There are a bunch of different tax incentives, and we recently moved up 3 spots to the 15th place in the World Economic Forum. And if you want to ship to multiple countries within Europe, our location is one of the best ones around: the main markets (UK, France and Germany) are all incredibly easy to reach from Belgium.

Some investment info:

http://www.investinflanders.com/en/doing_business/default.aspx

And this is something I've been hearing a lot about, not sure if it would apply to you but might be interesting:

http://minfin.fgov.be/portail2/belinvest/downloads/en/publications/bro_notional_interest.pdf
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post #12 of 34
9/11/11 at 6:08am
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/distance_selling/index_en.htm

This hasn't been mentioned. If you exceed the threshold you need to register
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post #13 of 34
9/11/11 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teemu View Post


 

When it comes to retailing to rest of the EU, Jersey and the other sneaky little islands are treated like non-EU area. This is nice when you are ordering some low value items, like some grooming products, you can get them tax-free, but when the customs margins break, it is like ordering outside EU. So the buyer located in some other EU country instead of paying the UK 20% VAT (15% is the minimum "basic" VAT according to EU rules) at the moment when he buys the item, will end up paying his own country's VAT% and all the possible additional customs fees they might come up with, which can in some countries push it to closer 50%. Also sending ties for example through Royal Mail with the recipient signature taking to other EU countries costs 6 pounds or slightly more, which is much nicer than 30 dollar USPS priority mail international, so UK is probably good option.


Ah ok, that makes sense. Now I think about it, it is mainly books and cds and that sort of thing. So I guess Jersey's out. If I remember correctly the reason they get away with their "sneaky" tax rules is that they're technically not part of the UK, but a Crown dependency - and therefore, I guess not part of the EU.

Same problem with Norway - which is why I've never bought anything from Berg & Berg so far.
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post #14 of 34
9/11/11 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the links, thoughts, insights and feedback! We are definitely researching the idea and hope that it comes to fruition... Will keep you all posted on progress!
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post #15 of 34
9/13/11 at 9:29am
Thread Starter 
This whole eurozone crisis is certainly disconcerting though.... wonder if it's better to wait on the sidelines for now...
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