VAT Tax Online Sales Outside EU

[SpallaPerfetta]

What has everyone's experience been with EU retailers charging VAT tax on orders shipped outside the EU? I recently wanted to by an item from a French online shop which I sought to ship to the USA. I asked if they could withhold or refund the VAT after purchase/delivery and they said it was impossible. I have ordered from other EU retailers who have not charged VAT or refunded it to my card after purchase so long as the order was being shipped to the USA. Not sure I'll have much luck arguing with the French on this one but the tax is pretty significant at 20%.

 

[maxalex]

The rules are complex but generally non-EU consumers (as opposed to B2B) don’t pay VAT for online orders shipped outside the EU. EU companies that regularly do online sales to non-EU consumers use shopping cart software that will calculate VAT (or deduct it) based on shipping location.

If they don’t, they are either incompetent, unserious about international sales, or simply cheats—meaning they will report your purchase as OSS (outside the scope of VAT) and keep it as extra profit.

That’s how it works here in Italy; could be different in France but I suspect the EU rules are pretty standard across member nations, even if the actual VAT percentage differs.