From: Chris Hill 
Newsgroups: uk.legal uk.finance
Subject: Re: Warning to Ebay buyers re import charges
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 09:41:24 +0100

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:08:28 GMT, Ronald Raygun
 wrote:
>
>Surely what matters is where you permanently live, not
>where you happen to be located at the time you buy the
>product.  If you have a card registered to a UK address,
>then that is where your PPR should be, and the presumption
>would be, just as in the case of hardware bought abroad which
>would be subject to VAT etc upon personal importation, that
>if you download software online into your laptop (say) while
>located in the US, that you would be carrying the laptop, and
>hence the software, back with you too, so would be importing it.

If one makes a purchase overseas then the point at which the 
tax (and possible duties) in the home country becomes 
payable is when the goods are  imported.

At the time of purchase the local taxation system should
be prevailing.  Then one returns home the purchase
should be declared (and tax and duty paid) if necessary.

In my case there should have been nothing to pay as the
item and the rest of the stuff I imported when I returned 
home was within my personal importation limit.

As it stands now the system is a bodge to catch as much
tax as possible that would otherwise not be collected.
This benefits the national governments and the vendors
of competing products from within the EU.  Stuff the 
consumer - they don't matter.

:) Chris.