BrickLink announces post-Brexit tax changes for UK and EU users

LEGO secondary marketplace BrickLink has announced a raft of new post-Brexit marketplace changes, including clearer guidance on collecting VAT for EU and UK sellers.

Since leaving the European Union in January, the UK now has its own VAT (or sales tax) regime, much like Norway. In essence, it means that the seller – rather than the buyer – is now responsible for collecting and paying VAT to the UK government on all orders from both EU and non-EU countries above £135.

On any purchases coming in below that value, the burden falls on the online marketplace. BrickLink declared back in January that it had registered as an online UK marketplace and would be seeking a solution for arranging the collection of VAT, with sellers advised at the time to proceed as normal until directed otherwise.

The platform – which was acquired by the LEGO Group in 2019 – has now announced plans to implement a site-wide process to account for the post-Brexit rule changes, which it will enable on May 18.

From that point forward, UK buyers will see a VAT-exclusive price from EU sellers, while EU buyers will see a VAT-exclusive price from UK sellers. VAT-inclusive prices will only be visible to UK buyers from UK sellers.

BrickLink will also handle VAT collection and payments to HMRC on all orders delivered to UK addresses below £135 in value. If you’re buying from an EU store, that means your final bill will include the initial price of your goods, plus the current VAT rate (20% of your order total), which will be listed separately at checkout and paid directly to BrickLink.

Where necessary, BrickLink will provide a copy of the VAT invoice sent to the buyer in order to prove to customs that the required tax has already been paid. For orders above £135 in value imported to the UK, however, the platform has advised that either the seller or buyer may need to pay VAT to get the goods through customs.

Finally, the secondary marketplace has advised non-UK sellers wishing to fulfil UK orders to opt in to BrickLink’s on-site payment method to streamline the process, and to use the BrickLink refund feature (when required) to ensure VAT is correctly refunded.

For more information on BrickLink’s tax changes for UK and EU users, check out the platform’s post-Brexit help page.

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