VAT value for Shipping Costs

English forums
1

Hi,

We have a customer who sells nutritional products from Germany, which incur 7% VAT. The shop-owner would like to charge VAT on shipping-rates as well, which is possible to setup in the OXID admin area.

However, the VAT being applied to the shipping-rates is 7%, not 19%, as it is for transportation.

Is this a bug or a feature (or oversight)?

Thanks & regards
Ashant

2

Hello Ashant,

it is simiply something a Joe Bloggs doesn’t have to know :slight_smile:
Alright: I am not a lower nor tax adviser. As far as I know German legal says that VAT on shipping costs depends on “what is more” in the cart. OXID decided to define the “what is more” by prices without tax.

Regards

3

Marco,

IMHO it should be definable at the system level which VAT-percent should be applicable to shipping-costs (shop-wide), if at all.

Shipping to me seems like a “transportation service”. So it should probably be associated a 19% VAT, which for ex. a package-service like DPD or Hermes charges on their invoices as well.

Don’t you think?

Ashant

4

Sounds logical but has some bumps:
What if you send a courier who is charged under “small trader exception” and doesn’t declare any VAT on his invoice? What if you can deliver in envelopes? There’s no tax on stamps, is it? :slight_smile:

Of course, it would be nice to have it configurable in admin, esp. while thinking of foreign shop users that may have totally different rules and law.

Regards

5

[QUOTE=euroblaze;34436]
Shipping to me seems like a “transportation service”. So it should probably be associated a 19% VAT, which for ex. a package-service like DPD or Hermes charges on their invoices as well.
Don’t you think?
Ashant[/QUOTE]

I think the “transportation service” changes here into an item specific additional cost. You cannot fullfill the order without these costs. And when it is item specific, so you also have to take the VAT rate, that is used for the items.

The same problem we have, when the customers send items back to the shop. The courts say that you have to give back all the money to the customer, even if the transportation service is nothing you can get back, like an item. You cant argue to give back just the item-price and say the transportation is an extra service that was additionally booked an has nothing to do with the items, so you can not refund it. (Ok this it ugly to explain in german and even more difficult in english).

Best is to ask you laywer. And i think this is a specific problem of german shop. So maybe it wont help to much in a international blog.

CYA

6

[QUOTE=Firefax;34444]I think the “transportation service” changes here into an item specific additional cost. You cannot fullfill the order without these costs. And when it is item specific, so you also have to take the VAT rate, that is used for the items.CYA[/QUOTE]

Even if the transportation has been applied as a line-item, it seems to make sense that an appropriate VAT be applied, rather than “adapting” it from other cart-lines.

Ashant

7

[QUOTE=euroblaze;34471]Even if the transportation has been applied as a line-item, it seems to make sense that an appropriate VAT be applied, rather than “adapting” it from other cart-lines.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you that the feature, to set an appropriate VAT might be needed in other countrys, but for Germany, the current version is absolutly correct.

I also know that some people like to do it in your way to “simplify” thier lifes. I like this shops because that VAT what they write on their invoices must be send to the government. So they pay voluntary tax. Good citizen :wink: