Online sellers and vat

[Wexford70]

Hi folks,

Was looking at websites today. Is it not usual to display prices including VAT?

Items were displayed with a price but the tax was only added when I went to pay.

[WRENNEIRE]

Irish or UK site?
Could it be customs charge rather than VAT?
For most sales to the public VAT is included in the sales price, usually separate for VAT registered businesses

[irishmail]

Was looking at this, prices are show without VAT then added when you go to check out. Very misleading, as most sites I look at show prices including VAT, the only additional cost is if additional shipping/postage to be added on. 

[BosKonay]

The site should show prices in Euro with ‘inc. vat’ appended. Where are you browsing from ? If the site can’t tell if you’re in the EU it will just show ex Vat and then add it on when you confirm your location. 

[GSR 800]

 

30 minutes ago, BosKonay said:

The site should show prices in Euro with ‘inc. vat’ appended. Where are you browsing from ? If the site can’t tell if you’re in the EU it will just show ex Vat and then add it on when you confirm your location. 

Usually I see it like this, initially the price minus vat shows up then after a few seconds refreshes to full price 

[irishmail]

1 hour ago, BosKonay said:

The site should show prices in Euro with ‘inc. vat’ appended. Where are you browsing from ? If the site can’t tell if you’re in the EU it will just show ex Vat and then add it on when you confirm your location. 

Using  google chrome in Ireland (mayo).

[BosKonay]

14 hours ago, irishmail said:

Using  google chrome in Ireland (mayo).

Thanks will do some checking. Does it make a difference if you are logged in first?

[BosKonay]

Thanks for the heads-up on that guys, the system should now correctly show Euro Vat inc Prices, and append a little 'inc. Irish VAT' specifically for Irish customers so you can be sure. 

Example link https://www.accurascale.com/en-ie/products/br-class-50-br-blue-d423-dcc-sound-fitted

[popeye]

I find the site is confusing with pricing, it sometime shows price with VAT and then no VAT.

I just ordered some H vans and had to pre order but it then gives the option to pay but won't take the payment.

So I don't know if I have ordered them or not.

It should say that payment will be taken at a later date. And it is not in my orders either.

[BosKonay]

As my last post it hadn’t been showing VAT dynamically but is fixed now. 

Unless it’s on your order list the order didn’t go through. 

If it’s a preorder the system will just take card details to hold / secure the order (like booking a hotel) then you can pay on arrival as you prefer. 

[Georgeconna]

More fun and games coming down the line. 

11 February 2026, the Council formally approved new customs duty rules for items contained in small parcels entering the EU, largely via e-commerce. The new rules respond to the fact that such parcels currently enter the EU duty free, leading to unfair competition for EU sellers.

 The agreement abolishes the threshold-based customs duty relief for parcels valued at under €150 entering the EU. Customs tariffs will therefore start applying to all goods entering the EU once the EU customs data hub – under discussion as part of a broader fundamental reform of the customs framework – is operational. This is currently expected in 2028.

 Until that time, EU member states have agreed to introduce an interim flat rate customs duty of €3 on items contained in small parcels valued at less than €150 sent directly to consumers in the EU. As of 1 July 2026, the duty will be levied on each different category of item, identified by their tariff sub-headings, contained in a parcel.

 Example: A parcel contains 1 blouse made of silk and 2 blouses made of wool. Therefore, due to their different tariff sub-headings, the parcel contains two distinct items and €6 in customs duty should be paid.

 Next steps
The interim flat rate customs duty of €3 will be levied on each item category contained in a small parcel entering the EU from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 and may be extended as appropriate. Once the new EU customs data hub is operational, this interim duty will be replaced by normal customs tariffs.

Even your beloved 0% train stuff  will be hit so you need to be savvy with your order.

 

[Ironroad]

So in effect, to avoid a 3 euro tariff on an Accurascale order shipped from the UK, the order needs to exceed 150 euro in value (normally zero duty on toys). ???

[MOGUL]

1 hour ago, Ironroad said:

So in effect, to avoid a 3 euro tariff on an Accurascale order shipped from the UK, the order needs to exceed 150 euro in value (normally zero duty on toys). ???

IRM/Accurascale orders won't be affected..  Since the removal of the €22 import VAT exemption back in 2021, all orders arriving in Ireland attract VAT, even if they are duty free(like Railway models are). So we put a good bit of work into full VAT paid shipping for EU orders with our fulfillment provider before we moved the IRM fulfillment over to the UK, which means we don't rely on the low value order loopholes.. Those loopholes were always likely to be closed off once cross border e-commerce, particularly from China(the likes of Alibaba, Shein and Temu) took off and started affecting European business and employment.. This is just the next step towards that happening, similar to Trump removing the De minimis in the US.. 

[Ironroad]

Not sure we are on the same page. As I read it this isn't a VAT levy rather it's a customs tariff that will apply on all small parcels under 150 euro in value.

[MOGUL]

57 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

Not sure we are on the same page. As I read it this isn't a VAT levy rather it's a customs tariff that will apply on all small parcels under 150 euro in value.

It’s a charge of €3 on low value parcels, in lieu of customs duty.. We don’t use the low value procedure, we use a mix of IOSS and DDP depending on the order value.. With a 0% rated product like railway models, duty isn’t an issue, just VAT

[Ironroad]

On 16/2/2026 at 2:08 PM, MOGUL said:

It’s a charge of €3 on low value parcels, in lieu of customs duty.. We don’t use the low value procedure, we use a mix of IOSS and DDP depending on the order value.. With a 0% rated product like railway models, duty isn’t an issue, just VAT

So you will collect the 3 euro when pricing the orders.  Note this duty applies regardless as to whether a product is normally exempt

[BosKonay]

2 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

So you will collect the 3 euro when pricing the orders.  Note this duty applies regardless as to whether a product is normally exempt

No it’s to cover a loophole that we don’t use at all. It doesn’t apply as we already use the two legal and approved methods already for parcels under 150 and above 

[Auto-Train Original]

 

On 16/2/2026 at 12:27 PM, Georgeconna said:

More fun and games coming down the line. 

11 February 2026, the Council formally approved new customs duty rules for items contained in small parcels entering the EU, largely via e-commerce. The new rules respond to the fact that such parcels currently enter the EU duty free, leading to unfair competition for EU sellers.

 The agreement abolishes the threshold-based customs duty relief for parcels valued at under €150 entering the EU. Customs tariffs will therefore start applying to all goods entering the EU once the EU customs data hub – under discussion as part of a broader fundamental reform of the customs framework – is operational. This is currently expected in 2028.

 Until that time, EU member states have agreed to introduce an interim flat rate customs duty of €3 on items contained in small parcels valued at less than €150 sent directly to consumers in the EU. As of 1 July 2026, the duty will be levied on each different category of item, identified by their tariff sub-headings, contained in a parcel.

 Example: A parcel contains 1 blouse made of silk and 2 blouses made of wool. Therefore, due to their different tariff sub-headings, the parcel contains two distinct items and €6 in customs duty should be paid.

 Next steps
The interim flat rate customs duty of €3 will be levied on each item category contained in a small parcel entering the EU from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 and may be extended as appropriate. Once the new EU customs data hub is operational, this interim duty will be replaced by normal customs tariffs.

Even your beloved 0% train stuff  will be hit so you need to be savvy with your order.

 

A makey-uppy rule by government spooks.