Buying from the EU (to UK) as an individual (i.e. not buying via VAT registered company) - a pre- and post- Brexit comparison

[Fubar]

Thanks for digging this info out @JT. indeed the VAT exemption only applies for your personal possessions if you intend to keep them. For the record I moved from Switzerland (non-EU) pre-Brexit and had to prove I was moving here permanently (basically provide employment + rental contracts).

Of course that doesn't mean I'm forbidden from ever selling any possession I brought with me. I probably have sold a couple bits and bobs on ebay/gumtree... If I had bought a pin a few days before moving, and sold it after a few months (which is typical for me), would that be a crime?

In the case of that sales thread, we can only speculate. Perhaps it's best to preserve our innocence! In any case at that price we will most likely never know...

 

[Asiapinball]

I moved back to the UK in 2007 after spending 10 years living in Asia and didn't pay any import duty or VAT on anything brought back. Three 40 foot containers in total (one of them a high top) containing all the contents of a 5,000 sq.ft. house, 16 pinball machines and 2 cars. Although it was a long time ago I don't see that there are any major changes in the "transfer of residence relief" rules which are here:

Transfer of residence to the UK

Find out how to import your personal belongings, pets and private motor vehicles when moving or returning to the UK.

www.gov.uk

So there shouldn't be any import duty or VAT to pay if you meet the conditions.

@Fubar you would not be a criminal, so long as you sold the goods after 12 months of moving and if you did sell goods within 12 months you would just have to declare to HMRC and pay the duty and VAT.

 

[Wizcat]

There's an interesting discrepancy there between the time the person arrived in the UK and the time the possessions were imported

Long story short - move to the UK, then 11 months after moving here you can import your 'possessions' tax free, and only need to wait one month before you could sell them on.