Amazon "onside" with collecting GST for Treasury

Wednesday 09 June 2021

The world’s largest online retailer is “onside” with charging GST on items sent to Jersey.

Discussions between Amazon and the Treasury have been “successful” and the Government is confident that most major retailers will agree to collect the tax on their behalf.

Updating the States Assembly yesterday, Treasury Minister Susie Pinel said that while negotiations had been “delicate”, they had gone well.

“Amazon, in particular, seem to be very onside with collecting GST at the point of exit of whatever country a product is sent from,” she said.

Deputy Pinel also challenged an assertion that most of the larger online retailers charged Jersey customers VAT because they did not recognise the island as a distinct tax jurisdiction.

Pictured: Treasury Minister, Deputy Susie Pinel.

“It is for the UK to set the rules for taxes administered by Revenue & Customs, including VAT,” she said. “Nonetheless, Revenue Jersey and Jersey Customs have carried out research to establish what charges are made by offshore retailers on the importation of personal goods to Jersey.

“An examination of the ‘top 10’ offshore retailers by volume indicated only one of them charges VAT and this retailer refunds it on request. 

“Consumers are therefore normally able to ensure that they do not pay this charge. The findings of our research work have been discussed with the Jersey Consumer Council.”

The Deputy refused to name the VAT-charging retailer, but added that some retailers charged the same price for goods regardless of where the customer lived.

At the moment, GST is due on any item imported by islanders over £135. Currently, items are held by Customs in Jersey until the recipient pays the GST owed.

The Government has said that this ‘de minimus’ limit is likely to be lowered, and could even be scrapped, once retailers start to collect GST at the ‘point of sale’, before sending it on to Jersey’s Treasury.

In 2018, politicians said that the de minimus limit would disappear "within three years".

The current discussions were “delicate”, said Deputy Pinel, as the island wanted to avoid what happened in Australia, where a breakdown in negotiations about tax prompted Amazon to halt deliveries there for four months in 2018.