Cubicdissection / CD Marketplace UK VAT Policy

The UK government has mandated that all businesses shipping products to UK customers must collect and remit UK VAT directly to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. This requirement affects goods valued up to £135 (currently about USD 180). Procedures for goods valued over that amount remain unchanged, with tax charged at the entry point and billed to the recipient upon delivery.

While many nations levy imports, they do so with their own resources. The new HRMC policy uniquely forces the burden of collection and remittance on foreign business owners. We find this to be an extraordinary overreach and detrimental to both UK consumers and small businesses worldwide.

We will not comply with this policy. Accordingly, we will no longer ship any parcel to the UK valued under the threshold amount. Orders above the threshold amount are unaffected and will be fulfilled as usual. UK clients are welcome to request that non-compliant orders be held until the combined shipment's sum value exceeds the threshold.

Such is the overreach of this legislation that the new HMRC policy also applies to individual Marketplace sellers. We have accordingly changed our terms and documentation to reflect these requirements. At their discretion, sellers may choose to register and submit VAT or disallow sales to UK bidders.

(After further research it has been determined that the Marketplace is not affected by Brexit regulations.)

I hope the UK repeals this law. Administrative overhead such as this disproportionately affects small businesses. Should this policy become commonplace, it will force handling fees to cover the cost of compliance.