Information for UK customers - Imports after Brexit - Vat & Duty

We are delighted to continue to serve our many and loyal customers in the United Kingdom, thank you very much!

Since January 2021, after the UK left the European Union, all shipments from Portugal to the UK are considered imports.

Vinyl Gourmet does not charge or add any taxes on sales to the UK, these are VAT Free transactions. This means you might be charged VAT, taxes, fees and import duties, depending on the value of your order, when it arrives in the UK.

What does this mean and how does it affect delivery of my order? Please check list below:

1 - When placing an order at Vinyl Gourmet you must provide a phone contact.

Local authorities in the UK might need to contact you to process your order at customs. An email and phone information are mandatory to ensure they can reach you to collect information or taxes related to your shipment.

2 - You have to be reachable and responsive by phone and email if they try to contact you.

Local authorities in the UK might need to contact you to process your order, if they try to call, write or email you and they can't reach you, your package will be returned after a certain period of time (usually no more than 10 days).

3 - You have to be aware of shipment location to ensure you know if they try to contact you.

You are responsible for tracking the shipment at CTT Portugal website, and Royal Mail (for registered mail) or Parcel Force (for larger parcels) websites using their online tracking service once the package enters UK territory. You have to make sure you are aware of the package location and are responsible to confirm if Royal Mail or Parcel Force have tried to reach you by mail, phone or letter concerning any customs processing issues or duty/tax payments.

We've had cases where Royal Mail and Parcel Force tried to reach the buyer by mail or other means but couldn't get a response resulting the return of the package to the sender in Portugal. The customer is required to keep track of these procedures on the UK side, if they tried to reach you it will show on the tracking details, you'll have to contact them to learn what happened.

4 - You are responsible for the payment of taxes, fees, duty, if required by your local authorities.

Finally, the customer is responsible for the payment of any duty, taxes or fees associated with the import of goods into the UK.

We at Vinyl Gourmet cannot accept returned packages due to unclaimed customs object or unpaid duty/taxes/fees, it's not possible to issue a refund in such scenario. Failure to comply with any of these requirements 1, 2, 3 and 4 voids your right to a refund or valid return.

More information here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-international-trade-and-excise-enquiries

And here:

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty