eBay closing threads concerning IOSS

[axentius]

Hi Community,

I've noticed that eBay Community moderators are closing threads concerning incurred extra costs because of missing/incomplete/invalid/wrong IOSS with the excuse "Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies". Those threads usually contain criticisms towards eBay and/or the sellers.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/IOSS-and-double-VAT-taxation/td-p/32158139

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/IOSS-woes/td-p/32122873

I've ran into the same problem(again) with invalid/missing/wrong IOSS and neither eBay or the seller are doing their part in taking responsibility for the penalty fees incurred on the buyer if the buyer wants to pickup the parcel.

So in my latest case I have not picked up the parcel and it will go back automatically to the return address and if the seller does not repay in full, the credit card company will.

Why is eBay not taking responsibility for what they and/or their users or doing wrong?

It ended up with me buying the same item from AliExpress and AliExpress have always taken full responsibility for IOSS problems incurred on me.

[bonjourami]

Khoros, not Ebay, will always close necro threads, no matter the subject, because they clog up the boards.

[momdadsstash]

If you have a particular problem, you can always start a new one.

[house*of*paws]

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@momdadsstash wrote:

If you have a particular problem, you can always start a new one.

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Which the mods actually invite us to do whenever they lock an old thread.

[toysaver]

"I've ran into the same problem(again) with invalid/missing/wrong IOSS and neither eBay or the seller are doing their part in taking responsibility for the penalty fees incurred on the buyer if the buyer wants to pickup the parcel."

It sounds like you want somebody else to pay your taxes.   That's between you and your government (Sweden) and has nothing to do with eBay or it's sellers.  Taxes and custom fees have always been the responsibility of the buyer.

[lamber9347]

Nope....

[stainlessenginecovers]

Those threads are over 1 year old. Thank goodness they are blocked from future comment. 

[wastingtime101]

Hey @axentius. Those IOSS problems are mainly due to the buyer's postal carrier. Ireland had an issue for a while because they didn't set up their system to accept the IOSS info electronically which resulted in thousands of return to sender packages.

This all started July 2021 when the EU implemented new VAT laws, but not every country's postal system implemented changes needed so they could receive the info electronically. When a seller purchases a label through eBay or through a shipping provider linked to an eBay account, eBay's system automatically sends IOSS info electronically. So if your postal carrier says they don't have the info, that's typically on them and their system.

There are some cases where sellers (primarily sellers in China from what I've read) use different shipping methods where they're not importing the info from eBay so in those cases it's on the seller for not making sure IOSS info is electronically filed.

Show that you paid VAT and the carrier may release the package. If they won't accept your eBay payment/order details as proof, then pay the VAT again, get a receipt, then file the forms to get a refund for duplicate payment of VAT. Read about the process here and file the request here.

[martin2001]

Why would you say that? eBay automatically charges VAT at the time of purchase, the buyer therefore already paid VAT and is asked to pay it again.

[martin2001]

You assume that ebay sends the info automatically, where does your confidence stem from ?

[martin2001]

You did it correctly. You should not pay VAT tax 2x. It is already outrageous that you have to pay extra 20% from international buyer. It is not a level playfield for US sellers. When we buy internationally, we don't pay any taxes, customs duty is paid only if the package is over $800. So US buyers have more incentives to buy from abroad as opposed to EU buyers who are slapped with  20% VAT tax and customs duties kick in after 150 EUR.

[48hrs-clothing]

IOSS allows eCommerce sellers to register with just one of the 27 EU tax authorities, and to submit one monthly IOSS VAT return in a way that allows the right payment of VAT across the other EU tax authorities where customers are based. Non-EU sellers will need to appoint an intermediary in order to register for IOSS.

IOSS (Import one stop shop) is a voluntary scheme and I believe at present eBay are not forcing their sellers to enrol in this scheme and in my opinion nor should they.

eBay is not exclusively business to business selling platform and all businesses are not necessarily VAT registered and neither are members of public who  list/ sell on eBay. A seller shipping without an IOSS number means buyer has not paid VAT, customs entry charges and any other related tariffs and has only paid item price and postage charges.

You not picking up your package in my experience will result in you loosing an INR case on eBay ( I hope that on receipt of returned item your seller issue a refund for the item price ) and if you file a case with your credit card then you could loose this as well as having a negative mark with your credit card issuer.

Buyers must check status of seller by asking for their IOSS number and if they can not be bothered then simplest way is to make sure that items they purchase are shipped using eBay's GSP( Global shipping programme) as at point of purchase all due fees including all taxes will be collected from buyer and paid directly to GSP. This ensure that all customs requirement in receiving country are met and buyer has a one stop shopping experience.

Hope this helps. 

[coolvibez]

In this case Ebay is powerless to do much more if the seller doesn't enter the number correctly or the carrier conveniently "forgets" to handle it correctly in order to pocket the huge fee which dwarfs the postage fees.

This is why the UPU specifically had rules that ensured that no fees could be charged to the receiver by the carrier. Mail wouldn't even work today if it had been allowed before.

People will obviously not pay those exhorbitant fees and it just creates a situation where months are wasted with parcels that never arrive.

During the last year only something like 1/10 parcels has arrived.

IOSS was clearly designed by the EU to throw a wrench in global direct trade and make people opt for local businesses, by destroying the global postal service.

If it doesn't work, it's by design.

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.