Amazon has issued advice to their Irish customers ahead of the busy Christmas season.
The distribution giant urged people to follow the guidelines if they wanted their purchases to arrive in time for Christmas.
It said: "Ahead of the busy shopping period, we wanted to provide you with some advice and guidance to make sure you get the most out of Amazon.co.uk as a customer in the Republic of Ireland."
With Christmas fast approaching, many people will have already started their shopping. However, others may have only begun.
Amazon has offered some helpful advice on avoiding delays and on VAT and duties on products imported from the UK.
Here is everything you need to know:
Prime Benefits
Amazon encouraged people to become Prime members in the run-up to Christmas to avail of priority delivery.
It said: "As part of a Prime membership, customers in the Republic of Ireland can access unlimited Priority Delivery on eligible items, as well PrimeVideo, Prime Photos, Prime Reading, and other Prime benefits."
Delivery Information
The company said people should be careful while filling out their delivery details, saying: "Please ensure the name in your address includes your first and last name and doesn't include any initials, numbers, or special characters (@, #, !).
"Adding an Eircode to your Irish address also helps our delivery partners accurately identify your address, making the delivery of goods easier."
VAT & Duties Calculation
Amazon advised customers on how VAT and duties will now be applied to their purchases as a result of Brexit.
It said: "When shopping on Amazon.co.uk, all prices are shown inclusive of UK VAT before checkout but this is removed and updated with any Irish VAT and / or duties that are due when you proceed to checkout and select an Irish delivery address.
Here are some common examples:
On orders less than €150 dispatched from Amazon UK (Irish VAT due):
- The price you see before checkout is inclusive of UK VAT, at the appropriate rate (e.g. 20%).
- UK VAT is removed at checkout, and you will instead see Irish VAT applied (e.g. 23%) once an Irish delivery address is selected.
- E.g. a cable with a price of €15.18 (including UK VAT) changes to €15.55 at checkout (€12.65 with UK VAT removed + €2.90 Irish VAT added).
On orders more than €150 dispatched from Amazon UK (custom duties and taxes where applicable):
- The price you see before checkout is inclusive of UK VAT (e.g. 20%).
- UK VAT is removed at checkout, and once an Irish delivery address is selected
Instead, you will see 1. an item price that excludes VAT, and 2. an Import Fee Deposit, which includes Irish VAT (23%), and any applicable duties (for some products, no duties are applied).
On orders dispatched from Marketplace Sellers:
The price of items dispatched from Marketplace Sellers includes any applicable VAT and duties, and no further payment will be due.
However, suppose for any reason, you are charged additional costs (e.g., by customs authorities), in addition to the purchase price and delivery. In that case, you can contact the Seller to request a refund of these costs.
Should the Seller not reply or resolve the issue for you, you are eligible to file an A-to-Z Guarantee claim with us to request a refund.
