Vat on imported books?

[dennis]

This may be a wrongly charged one-off (I am querying & will post answer), but yesterday I was charged 20% VAT on the total cost of a book imported from the US. In the past 25 years I have imported a lot of books from the US without ever having any charge made. Are we now charging VAT on books from abroad? Sad day if so, & a blow to the secondhand book market. Dennis.

[numnutz]

As far as I know there is no vat on books. If you look on the Customs and revenue website you should be able to claim a refund. I suspect this is part of a plot to justify the post office charging a fee to interact with customs and pay the fee usually £5 / £8.

http://search.hmrc.gov.uk

I used to have the page bookmarke but it seems to have dissapeared (part of a sinister plot perhaps).


nn

[BarryWilkinson]

I had an argument with Customs and Excise when they charged me vat on two books from the US last year. They eventually refunded the vat after three months. The argument continued as the Royal Mail charged me for handling the vat. Eventually weeks later the C&E grudgingly told the royal Mail to refund me. I felt quite angry because it was not the Royal Mail's error and yet they were asked to pay

Good luck

Barry

[dennis]

Post Office charged £8.00 for handing me a package! Dennis.

[Joanna Carter]

I would definitely fight for the VAT back and also the PO charges.

[Neil Barnes]

There's no VAT on *paper* books, but there *is* VAT on e-book purchases.

Go figure!

Neil

[Joanna Carter]

There's no VAT on *paper* books, but there *is* VAT on e-book purchases.

Go figure!

Yes, I tend to buy all my technical books for Kindle nowadays. It's just so much more convenient to have a library of several boks, which would normally be several hundred pages and quite heavy, all on one slim iPad. The bonus is, even with the VAT added, they are still cheaper than their printed conterparts. What is more, the delivery is a lot faster than the Post Office

[dennis]

This is by way of a 1st update. Sent all the required info to HMRC as address on customs form. Then had an email asking me to download a form to be sent to Border Agency along with all the forms stuck to the front of the mailing envelope along with the receipt from the US supplier. Sent all this (photocopy of receipt tho), then received a letter to tell me that all that was being sent to Heathrow as being the place that handled the package incoming. Don't ask why they could not have told me that in the 1st place since they must have known from the ident numbers - however. Now awaiting outcome - not holding breath after news today of other Border Agency problems. What is it about organisation & this country?

[dennis]

Final, final update. Have actually received repayment of VAT & handling charge! Still out of pocket of course from postage & photo copying, but unsure how to pursue, or even if I can be bothered. Really niggling tho' to not receive an apology from the Border Agency for their mistake. Dennis.

Final update - unless the money orders don't arrive. After sending all the required receipts etc, & they being sent to Heathrow; had a letter from the UK Border Agency which finally, after a long & irrelevant preamble, admitted they had made a mistake, but not admitting that books do not attract VAT, & said they would refund the VAT charged. They kindly gave the addresses of the Royal Mail so I could reclaim the handling fee. RM were very prompt & only required a photo copy of the UKBA letter. Now awaiting the refunds, but what about all the hassle & out of pocket expenses, postage, photo copying etc, none of which were my fault? The UKBA really do seem to be an organisation lacking any leadership/management.