Hi confused Oyster, join the club. The way I see it is that the Irish shops in Dublin where you get your Aran Gansai ..(Pullover), will happily sell it to you ,VAT included. If you want to pay less and not pay VAT, they will be less than happy..But they will have provision for that...they deal with lots of USA visitors . They will need to see your passport, and you end up filling up forms with passport numbers . Since these are 100 quid a pop,you might as well get 10.I am confused. (Which is usually quite easy to achieve.)
Take this possible scenario: I hop on a ferry from Pembroke Dock to Ireland and do some shopping in Dublin. I then decide to sample the delights of Belfast and do some more shopping. Then, hop on a ferry back direct from Belfast to Birkenhead.
Exactly what rules apply re tax and duties on the items I have bought. How do HMRC get to know about these goods? Do I have to fill in any forms? Or tell a customs officer what I am bringing in?
Bringing goods into the UK after 31 December 2020
Some rules will temporarily change when you bring goods for your own use from the EU to the UK.
This guidance does not apply to bringing goods from Ireland to Northern Ireland.
You can:
https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/bringing-goods-uk-after-31-december-2020
- continue to pay tax and duties where you bought them, and bring back an unlimited amount of most goods (including alcohol and tobacco)
- use your duty-free allowance to bring in a certain amount of goods without paying duty or tax - these are the same as allowances for goods brought in from non-EU countries
- claim a refund of the VAT you paid where you bought the goods
Now you drive up or take the Enterprise train to Belfast,and you buy coffees on it, with sterling credit card , you pay the VAT on it. Incidentally that transaction is processed in Westmeath. Then you stock up with loads of GoT memorabilia,pay VAT on it and head off home. HMRC at Birkenhead don't care about your purchases,..since they won't even be there, if the ferry was from Belfast. Had you come directly back to Holyhead, they will charge import duty on the Aran Sweaters ,since they are waiting for the Irish boat.
Now if you did pay VAT in Dublin, you have two options. You can accept the cost, or you can go into another channel in the Birkenhead customs house and declare the purchase and you will be charged import duty,up front..You will get a customs receipt. Then you can apply for a rebate on the Irish VAT.,by sending the customs receipt to Irish Revenue at Dublin Castle.
You need to buy a lot of Gansai s to make tgat palatable.