{"id":8752,"date":"2019-02-25T16:41:31","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T16:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/?page_id=8752"},"modified":"2023-10-23T08:29:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T07:29:43","slug":"buying-outside-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/shopping\/buying-outside-the-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying outside the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/consumer-rights\/\">strong consumer rights<\/a> when you buy from businesses based in the EU. However, when buying from a business outside the EU (UK, US, China etc.) you do not have the same rights. You may also have to pay extra taxes and charges.<\/p>\n<p>For example, EU based websites have a cooling off period of 14 days during which you can return an item and receive a full refund. This may not apply to websites outside the EU.<\/p>\n<h2>How to check where a business is based<\/h2>\n<p>To find out where the business is located, you cannot rely on the name of the website or prices displayed in Euro. For example, a website address which ends in .ie or .co.uk does not always mean the business is located in Ireland or the UK.<\/p>\n<p>You can check the terms and conditions, privacy policy or &#8216;contact us&#8217; part of the website to find the physical address of the business.<\/p>\n<h2>Checking a business\u2019s policies<\/h2>\n<p>You may not have the same rights of redress and return if you buy outside the EU. Each business will set their own policies on these. You should always read the terms and conditions to check their policies. You should find out if you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>have the right to return an item<\/li>\n<li>need to pay postage for returning items<\/li>\n<li>can cancel an order before it is dispatched<\/li>\n<li>can return an item if you change your mind<\/li>\n<li>will pay any Irish VAT and\/or customs duties in the final price. If not, you may face a bill from Revenue when your goods are delivered to you<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Resolving issues<\/h2>\n<p>You should follow up with the business through their internal complaints process if something goes wrong. If the business refuses to engage with you, you may have to get independent legal advice on your options.<\/p>\n<h2>Taxes and Charges<\/h2>\n<p>When you buy in the EU, taxes and charges should already \u00a0be included. This may not be the case when you buy outside the EU, and taxes and charges may be added when items are imported. The cost of any additional charges will depend on the value, type and origin of the goods you buy.<\/p>\n<p>The three most common extra charges are:<\/p>\n<div id=\"accordion-1\" class=\"accordion no-js\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t1\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\tValue Added Tax (VAT)\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c1\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>VAT is due on all shipments no matter what the value is. VAT is due on all costs including shipping, delivery, insurance, handling and administration charges.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.revenue.ie\/en\/customs\/individuals\/buying-online-personal\/outside-eu.aspx\">Learn how VAT is applied<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t2\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\tCustoms duty\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c2\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>If you order online from a business outside the EU and the total value of the goods is \u20ac150 or more, you may also need to pay customs duties.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.revenue.ie\/en\/customs\/individuals\/buying-online-personal\/outside-eu.aspx\">Learn how customs duty is applied<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-1-t3\" class=\"accordion-title js-accordion-controller\" aria-controls=\"accordion-1-c3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\tCustoms processing fees\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"accordion-1-c3\" class=\"accordion-content\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Some businesses add taxes and charges to the total cost of your order at checkout. You should check the terms and conditions or contact the business directly to confirm this before you buy. If this is the case, you won&#8217;t have to pay any further charges when your goods are delivered to you.<\/p>\n<p>Another option is where a delivery company collects the additional taxes and charges that apply to your goods directly from you. You&#8217;ll most likely receive a notification from the delivery company letting you know how much you owe and how to pay. In these cases, the delivery company will include an extra handling fee for processing the taxes and charges.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n<h3>Returning an item<\/h3>\n<p>If you are returning an item you bought, you may be able to claim a refund of VAT and any customs duty. Be sure to keep proof that you have returned the item.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you paid these charges directly to the online retailer when you made your purchase then you will usually apply for and receive these as part of your overall refund.<\/li>\n<li>If you paid VAT\/customs duty to a postal or courier company then you may need to apply to them directly for a refund of taxes paid. You\u2019re unlikely to get a refund of any administrative fees you paid to them for processing your VAT\/customs duty payment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revenue.ie\/en\/customs\/individuals\/buying-online-personal\/claim-refund.aspx\">Revenue<\/a> to get more information on claiming a refund of VAT and customs duty.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu\/buying-goods-online-coming-non-european-union-country_en\">European Commission<\/a> also provides information on the payment of taxes and charges outside the EU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UK is no longer part of the EU and the transition period that was in place has now ended. As a result of Brexit, there are changes to your consumer rights when buying from retailers in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"parent":12505,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8752","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>Buying outside the EU - CCPC Consumers<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is an independent statutory body that enforces competition and consumer protection law in Ireland\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpc.ie\/consumers\/shopping\/buying-outside-the-eu\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Buying outside the EU - 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