Ebay, The Uk, And 20% Vat

[SilentSpeaker]

Hello!

I tend to lurk around here, but now I've come into a bit of a conundrum and am wondering if any of you fine people have ever heard of such a situation and could perhaps offer any suggestions or advice.

So, I won an item on ebay from the UK (things for a hobby of mine, just some geeky stuff ) for 21GBP, with 3GBP postage so that's 24 right?

On the Shipping/Postage section of the listing, there's this little snippet on the bottom concerning VAT:

VAT price: 20.0% (included in the listed price). If you have questions about this VAT tax, please contact the seller. The actual VAT requirements and rates may vary depending on the final sale.

Come auction end, I get the invoice and low and behold: 24GBP.

But from my experience, with online stores (not ebay) if something with UK VAT added is exported, one does not have to pay this 20% UK tax, and it is usually deducted automatically if the store has an online shopping cart, perhaps ebay's just different? (sure, perhaps one would have to pay some exorbitant and arbitrary Thai tax, but that's another story )

So I email the seller concerning this and here's the reply:

Hello,Thank you for your email. The 20% Value Added Tax rate is included in the sale price, so there will be no additional amount added to your purchase price, other than the usual advertised shipping charges which were included in the description. If there is a tax reclamation agreement in place between Thailand and the UK the you will be able to claim this amount back from your government as you have paid a UK domestic tax. I hope this information is of assistance.

Cheers!

This made me somewhat confused as I'm quite sure that VAT here and VAT in the UK are completely separate affairs, I mean, even if there's some kind of agreement, what's to stop the fellow at the post office here from tacking on something extra despite my having paid a "20% UK tax"? A big sticker on the box saying I've already paid another country's tax?

Is the seller allowed to do this? Are they correct on this matter?

Any light that someone could shed on this matter would be of immeasurable help.

Thank you for your time in advance,

SS

[robblok]

I can only state what i know is true in Dutch tax law. Because its exported to Thailand it would be 0% tax. With the bigger companies i get 0% tax (after asking).

I am pretty sure its similar to the UK because all tax laws are based om EU rules.

[H2oDunc]

You bid and paid 21 pounds for an item. I presume the fact you bid 21 pounds you were happy to pay 21 pounds ? The delivery is 3 pounds so you pay 24 pounds ? If the seller is a private individual then he will not be paying any VAT.

Just pay the 24 pounds you were happy to pay before any mention of VAT entered the equation

The chances are it is a standard notice to cover any seller.

[robblok]

You bid and paid 21 pounds for an item. I presume the fact you bid 21 pounds you were happy to pay 21 pounds ? The delivery is 3 pounds so you pay 24 pounds ? If the seller is a private individual then he will not be paying any VAT.

Just pay the 24 pounds you were happy to pay before any mention of VAT entered the equation

The chances are it is a standard notice to cover any seller.

If its a private seller then your 100% right. If its a business they probably have to exclude the vat. That said i often buy on ebay from businesses and i have never asked for vat back.

The only time i do that is when i directly contact companies for instance when i buy fiscal books or accounting software. (on those kinds of prices it pays to save a bit of money)