This is over-reach from HMRC (UK tax authorities) IMO. Only applies to sale value < £135 though. Issue is that VAT (sales tax) is now being collected at the point of sale rather than at the point of importation, which every other country in the world does. Many retailers are understandably upset by this, it's the first UK consumers have heard of it, so I suspect it will be reversed soon. Dumb-ass politicians, and greedy tax authorities who had to 'have a go'. Looks like UK residents will be paying a helluva lot more VAT in the future...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55530721

Interestingly, ebay and Amazon.com have been 'pre-collecting' VAT for some time for UK orders, but I didn't know it was 'the law', and it didn't always happen.

I would say- continue as is, and ignore the UK's requirements. Put the value on the customs form as normal, as all countries in the world bar one require, and see what happens. There will be a transition period, if nothing else. The UK has no jurisdiction over other countries (well mostly none nowadays, hoho), so ignore it.

IMO this will be reversed soon anyway, as it's dumb ass, not supported by consumers, and there is a consumer revolt about it going on currently. I even wrote to my MP. You have to question what incompetent civil servant twit let this arrogant tax imperialism through. Do they think it's 1773? Boston Tea Party, dudes. You'd think the US side of the US-UK trade negotiations would be all over this unilateral nonsense. Give it a few weeks. The UK is desperate for a trade deal with the US, after all, and was hoping for a 'mini-deal' before Trump leaves. So I'm optimistic. Also waiting for the import tariffs to be cancelled (on both sides).

HMRC requires quarterly VAT returns. They also use an etax system that requires a subscription ('Making Tax Digital'), rather than allowing simple (free) web-based submission- I kid you not. I really would recommend ignore and continue as is! The modern UK is Gilliam's Brazil, frankly. Quite the joke.

Ironically, as Neil alludes, this all derives from the bureaucratic dying nightmare that is the EU. I had hoped the UK would ditch this shit along with the EU (isn't that the upside of leaving?), but apparently not. If the UK was a democracy this would be ditched soon enough. We shall see, as we hide in our homes from Covid and get told who we can meet by The Man. We're like Red China but without the economic growth.

Ignore and carry on as is. It will be ditched by the pen pushers soon enough. I have several orders from US, Germany and Italy awaited, so will find out shortly if this VAT law has fucked commerce. I doubt it has, and life goes on and we need to survive, yes? Government is little more than a parasite, which is becoming increasingly clear with unenforceable 'laws' such as this. I despise them (principally meaning the opportunistic business-destroying vulture HMRC). At a moment when our economies and businesses are on our knees dying (Covid, Brexit, IR35), this is just what we need. Fuck me I guess these bastards don't have to live in the real world, funded by our money as they are. As I say, the pure definition of parasite.

Mark value as zero? The Chinese do this for everything and are doing just fine. Alternatively, the majority of UK-US trade just died. RIP. Maybe the bureaucrat 'geniuses' negotiating the US-UK trade deal might notice?

More seriously, ebay have auto-VAT set up so sell via them? Ditto Amazon. As usual, corporations do fine, it's small business that is raped.