buying from Thomann, Bax etc post Brexit

dakwah

Sorry if this has been covered before (and in the correct section) but I was wondering if anyone from the UK has bought from Thomann etc from an EU country post Brexit?

So my questions are:

1. Will we be subjected to extra tax from Customs?

2. Will it take much longer to be delivered?

I have bought from Thomann before, years ago and except for currency fluctuations the price I paid was close to the £s quoted.

At the moment they seem to have some very good prices on a couple of amps I am interested in.

thanks Stan

Blob

I think you need to add Vat and duty to the price now.

digitalscream

I've got a bit of an awkward one, in that I pre-ordered the new Harley Benton power amp in November. It was shipped on 20th December, and I'm (predictably) yet to receive it.

So...it was purchased and shipped before Brexit, but will be delivered after Brexit. I have no idea where that leaves me.

Danny1969

All my problems are the other way. I now have to put customs forms on everything and orders going to France, Germany and the Netherlands are taking long, probably because they have to clear customs now. RM have put International postage up to £3.05 as well to Europe which doesn't sound much but when your shipping hundreds it adds up and cuts into the profit. 

more

Buying from the  EU  has not been  tax free , but German VAT  is a  bit less than the UK . Before laving the EU , the retailer would charge you local VAT and it would be delivered to you with no stops . Now the  retailer  will sell it to you as an export item and you will need to pay UK VAT and a  fee to collect it . The retailer will need to declare the value and  describe the contents of the parcel they are sending you and this will need to pass through the UK Customs. This all add extra work to the courier , so they will charge more . 
 There is a change to all  foreign retailers that are selling small item , under £135 ,in the UK  . I  don't fully understand it , but I   believe the retailer  needs to register to pay UK VAT and pay it to the UK government before the item is  despatched. It ,in theory , will make it easier for the customer  to buy stuff ,but in reality, all the Chines retailers selling on Ebay will  disappear? 

dakwah

in addition to this. Thomann can be more expensive than uk retailers and when cheaper is a few pounds but sometimes enough to buy from them. At the moment they have the Headrush gigboard for £379 which is £100 cheaper than what I can see in the UK. So even adding customs charges VAT etc will make it competitive. Is the price difference from Thomann coincidental from Thomann to tie in with Brexit? The amp I am looking at is the AC30 head at £599, a lot cheaper before Brexit taxes. Will be interested to hear from anyone who gets a delivery for EU in next few weeks to see what is the real situation

Stan

ArchtopDave

Cannot comment on post Brexit, but I bought from Thomann in the first part of December, and my purchase arrived in the nick of time. There were courier delays, because the first courier kept my package in Germany for 8 days before deciding that they were overloaded with work, and they returned my purchase to Thomann, who, to their credit, rapidly arranged for another courier, and then it took 4 days to be delivered to me.

prowla

Blob said:

I think you need to add Vat and duty to the price now.

As I understand it...

You won't pay both UK VAT and German sales tax.

Your courier may charge you a fee for handling the payment of VAT on your behalf.

There should be no import duty to pay on a new item.

exocet

prowla said:

Blob said:

I think you need to add Vat and duty to the price now.

As I understand it...

You won't pay both UK VAT and German sales tax.

Your courier may charge you a fee for handling the payment of VAT on your behalf.

There should be no import duty to pay on a new item.

Yes there is duty on import of new gear (exceeding the £135 threshold) from EU or outside of EU. Why wouldn't there be..unless the item in question was manufactured in the EU (including components)  rules of origin will apply...hence duty payable. Free Trade Agreements are not designed to  cover retail.

Slash'N'burn

Ordered a £22 item, (+£8 p&p) from them a couple of days ago, 20% vat was added at the checkout, no mention when ordering of anything to pay in customs fees when the parcel hits the UK, so will be annoyed if I do get slapped with additional  fees.

exocet

Slash'N'burn said:

Ordered a £22 item, (+£8 p&p) from them a couple of days ago, 20% vat was added at the checkout, no mention when ordering of anything to pay in customs fees when the parcel hits the UK, so will be annoyed if I do get slapped with additional  fees.

You should be fine with that.

Thomann will now charge UK VAT @ 20%

Total is under €135 threshold so no additional duty payable....I think...

more

Slash'N'burn said:

Ordered a £22 item, (+£8 p&p) from them a couple of days ago, 20% vat was added at the checkout, no mention when ordering of anything to pay in customs fees when the parcel hits the UK, so will be annoyed if I do get slapped with additional  fees.

Because it is below the£135 threshold , the retailer has  paid  VAT for you. It should just drop through your door . Thomann are a  big  operation .  They can afford to comply with any tax rules. 

Mudcrutch

Bax is in Holland and I think the rules are a bit different when ordering from them.
They still show prices including vat.

more

Mudcrutch said:

Bax is in Holland and I think the rules are a bit different when ordering from them.
They still show prices including vat.

I'm not sure in what way the rules  would be different, Personally I don't know how Bax operate. Their web site is  co.uk and  their   address is in Kent. 

sxard

more said:

Mudcrutch said:

Bax is in Holland and I think the rules are a bit different when ordering from them.
They still show prices including vat.

I'm not sure in what way the rules  would be different, Personally I don't know how Bax operate. Their web site is  co.uk and  their   address is in Kent. 

I ordered a boss RC 500 from Bax.co.uk on January 2nd and received it on January 5th. The tracking showed that it came from Holland but I didn't have to pay anything beyond the price on the website, got lucky I guess.

Snags

That could well be because Bax are making the sale in the UK but shipping from abroad. What matters is where the transaction is made. 

paulphoenix

digitalscream said:

I've got a bit of an awkward one, in that I pre-ordered the new Harley Benton power amp in November. It was shipped on 20th December, and I'm (predictably) yet to receive it.

So...it was purchased and shipped before Brexit, but will be delivered after Brexit. I have no idea where that leaves me.

Almost the same here but, My GPA 100 shipped
on the 19th of December from Thomann via DHL. Tracking updates stopped coming on Christmas Eve. 

After waiting  patiently I eventually checked  my Thomann account last Thursday to find a credit on my account - as the consignment was mysteriously returned to Thomann. 

Have you checked with Thomann ? 

Telejester

I ordered the new black tc electronics unitune clip on tuner before the end of December 2020, I then got an email from thomann  saying it is delayed until March 2021 , not sure if I am going to have to pay extra either

Edit checked my thomann account and it says no vat + £8 shipping

PFAllen2

https://www.thomann.de/gb/faq_question_information_for_non_eu_countries.html

It says this-

Special Rules for our UK Customers

With the new trade agreement between the EU and the UK, new regulations have been applied to all commercial transactions between the two distinct markets.

As of 01.01.2021 all current prices shown on our UK website do not include VAT 20% (Value Added Tax).
According to the new regulations, the VAT (20%) and additional handling fees will have to be paid to the courier upon delivery with the only exceptions being special VAT-free zones (e.g Channel Islands).

Based on the feedback we have received so far, Government Charges will be collected by UPS and they consist of the 20% VAT plus a small amount for the paperwork involved (usually around 2.5%). There is also an additional amount to be paid to UPS for their service, which is a minimum of 11.50 GBP. As not every order has the same customs requirement, for further information we advise that you check the costs and procedures in advance with the courier locally.

VAT will be added and charged by Thomann GmbH after processing an order only if the net value of the items is equal or less than 135.00 GBP or if delivery will be to Northern Ireland. In these cases, no additional fee will have to be paid upon delivery.

For items exceeding 31 kilos, or heavy goods such as PA equipment, pianos, etc., we have to employ the services of a heavy haulage company. As these new regulations only came into effect a few days before the end of the transition period, delivery by this method of transport to the UK is currently not possible. Further information will be included in our order confirmation email.
Please be assured that with more than 20 years of close cooperation with our UK customers, it is our priority to find new solutions that will allow us to provide door-to-door online prices as soon as possible.

digitalscream

paulphoenix said:

digitalscream said:

I've got a bit of an awkward one, in that I pre-ordered the new Harley Benton power amp in November. It was shipped on 20th December, and I'm (predictably) yet to receive it.

So...it was purchased and shipped before Brexit, but will be delivered after Brexit. I have no idea where that leaves me.

Almost the same here but, My GPA 100 shipped
on the 19th of December from Thomann via DHL. Tracking updates stopped coming on Christmas Eve. 

After waiting  patiently I eventually checked  my Thomann account last Thursday to find a credit on my account - as the consignment was mysteriously returned to Thomann. 

Have you checked with Thomann ? 

Yeah - mine's actually being delivered today. How weird.

exocet

PFAllen2 said:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/faq_question_information_for_non_eu_countries.html

It says this-

Special Rules for our UK Customers

With the new trade agreement between the EU and the UK, new regulations have been applied to all commercial transactions between the two distinct markets.

As of 01.01.2021 all current prices shown on our UK website do not include VAT 20% (Value Added Tax).
According to the new regulations, the VAT (20%) and additional handling fees will have to be paid to the courier upon delivery with the only exceptions being special VAT-free zones (e.g Channel Islands).

Based on the feedback we have received so far, Government Charges will be collected by UPS and they consist of the 20% VAT plus a small amount for the paperwork involved (usually around 2.5%). There is also an additional amount to be paid to UPS for their service, which is a minimum of 11.50 GBP. As not every order has the same customs requirement, for further information we advise that you check the costs and procedures in advance with the courier locally.

VAT will be added and charged by Thomann GmbH after processing an order only if the net value of the items is equal or less than 135.00 GBP or if delivery will be to Northern Ireland. In these cases, no additional fee will have to be paid upon delivery.

For items exceeding 31 kilos, or heavy goods such as PA equipment, pianos, etc., we have to employ the services of a heavy haulage company. As these new regulations only came into effect a few days before the end of the transition period, delivery by this method of transport to the UK is currently not possible. Further information will be included in our order confirmation email.
Please be assured that with more than 20 years of close cooperation with our UK customers, it is our priority to find new solutions that will allow us to provide door-to-door online prices as soon as possible.

I can see Thomann setting up a UK based warehouse operation. Goods imported into EU but held in bonded warehouse then transferred to UK warehouse so no EU duty payable only UK duty. Orders taken centrally but fulfilled locally under local taxation regime.
There'll either be a valid business case for doing this else they'll just give up on UK market completely because UK purchaser won't want the additional cost / hassle of importing goods...let alone the issue of dealing with after sales warranty issues with an overseas provider.