IMPORTING ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO
The online home of HM Revenue & Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk) features a section about shopping on the internet. It points out that you will not be charged customs duty or import VAT if you buy from within the European Union (EU). But alcohol and tobacco products from within the EU can’t be sent to the UK unless arrangements have been made to pay UK excise duty in advance. Importing tobacco and alcohol from a country outside the EU incurs customs duty if the amount is over £7, import VAT if the value of goods is over £18 and excise duty on top for alcohol and tobacco. A spokesperson for HMRC told Web is difficult.” If you go on a booze cruise to France, excise duty will be included in the price you pay for the alcohol and cigarettes, but “online rules are different, as you are not physically going to pick the goods up,” said the spokesperson. “Declarations fixed to packages will be checked by customs to ensure excise duty has been paid. If it has not, it amounts to smuggling.”
RESELLING BRAND-NAME PRODUCTS
If you resell a knock-off brand-name product online, you could be guilty of trademark infringements. The most popular marketplace for such sales is eBay (www.ebay.co.uk), which provides guidelines for selling genuine brand-name products at http://bit.ly/ebay232. It stresses that “you should avoid listing an item that bears the brand name or logo of a company that did not manufacture or authorise the product,” and that you could face account suspension if you do so. Even when selling genuine products, you should ensure brand names are used appropriately. EBay advises you to “avoid suggesting that you’re an official dealer/reseller, if you’re not, and avoid using the manufacturer’s logo, other than as it may appear on the product”.
RESELLING TICKETS ON EBAY
You can find eBay’s advice and information about reselling tickets at http://bit.ly/tick232. It’s important to remember that different countries have different laws about reselling tickets. In the UK, it is illegal to resell tickets to football matches, for example, and it will be illegal to resell tickets for the London Olympic Games in 2012. However, it is not illegal to resell tickets for concerts. Touting on street corners, as compared to online selling, is forbidden because you need a street-trading licence. Ensure that you look at the terms and conditions printed on the back of a ticket, as there may be restrictions regarding reselling.
BUYING PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE
The risks involved in buying medicine over the internet are outlined by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) at http://bit.ly/med232. As an individual, you are not committing an offence if you buy prescription medicines online, but you could be risking your health. “The seller would be committing an offence under the Medicines Act if they are within UK borders and selling prescription-only medicine without a prescription. Prescription medicines should only be sold with a prescription from a registered pharmacy,” said an MHRA spokesperson. Pharmacy websites should display details, such as the name and address of the owner of the business and details of the registration status of the pharmacy and pharmacist. Look out for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s (www.rpsgb.org.uk) new logo for participating online pharmacy sites. You can click on it to check that the site is a registered pharmacy.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
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