Question about VAT for US residents

[Neo]

Mr.Charlie, no apology is necessary.

[Neo]

An update for those that are interested.

i received a message from Werner this morning feigning surprise at the chargeback and ignorance of the reason for it. He forwarded to Paypal our very early communications where I confirmed that I had received the pen but not the later ones in the chain with the web links regarding VAT law. Of course I promptly sent those along to the dispute department.

i am getting a bit frustrated with the multi-month saga and wish for a resolution soon....

[kbrede]

An update for those that are interested.

i received a message from Werner this morning feigning surprise at the chargeback and ignorance of the reason for it. He forwarded to Paypal our very early communications where I confirmed that I had received the pen but not the later ones in the chain with the web links regarding VAT law. Of course I promptly sent those along to the dispute department.

i am getting a bit frustrated with the multi-month saga and wish for a resolution soon....

Thanks for hanging with this and for keeping us posted. Doesn't surprise me he acts like he doesn't know what's going on and trying to avoid the whole thing. If word gets out someone got a refund for an inappropriate VAT charge, he will owe people a lot of money. And moving forward he'll have to change his pricing scheme. I really wanted one of his pens but the more I hear about the company, the less I want to.
Kent

[Neo]

Well, Werner sent me a reply....

As said I hoped I could resolve the problem easily.We do have contacted the local Belgian government and are told that if
received a package without paying any custom cost the VAT may not be refund.

Please let me know if you are pleased with your Conid Bulkfiller fountainpen ?

I am confident that we surely will find a solution both of us will be pleased.

I am going to ask him to prove this statement, am eagerly awaiting a reply.

[pengeezer]

Well, Werner sent me a reply....

As said I hoped I could resolve the problem easily.We do have contacted the local Belgian government and are told that if
received a package without paying any custom cost the VAT may not be refund.

Please let me know if you are pleased with your Conid Bulkfiller fountainpen ?

I am confident that we surely will find a solution both of us will be pleased.

I am going to ask him to prove this statement, am eagerly awaiting a reply.

Maybe you should ask the Belgian government if Werner contacted them,and see if both answers match up.



John

[Neo]

I have, I'd called weeks ago and sent a message electronically yesterday. No response yet.

[Laura N]

At any rate, if you're fine with the way Conid seems to be doing business. I'm fine with you being fine with it. I'll just vote with my dollars.
Kent

Plus one.

[Neo]

At any rate, if you're fine with the way Conid seems to be doing business. I'm fine with you being fine with it. I'll just vote with my dollars.
Kent

Plus one.

If I could go back in time, ditto.

[Woody]

You are correct. No-one outside the EU needs to pay VAT on purchases

Wow. . I got customs and VAT to Canada a number of months ago. A Conid pen from Belgium.

My first Conid about 2 years ago it was a custom charge only. I understood that. On my second Conid about 7 months ago it was Customs, and VAT. I sent a note to Francis at Conid, and Francis mentioned that they might be able to look into it on my next purchase.

All in all, the pen plus customs and VAT was $200 more. For me quite cost prohibitive for any other Conids. Pity really because I love the pen.

[Neo]

Hello, the Belgian authorities sent me an email, unfortunately it's in French. Is there anyone here that is willing to help me with translation?

[sloegin]

You should be able to run it through google translate for a rough translation.

Here.

[Chrissy]

Hello, the Belgian authorities sent me an email, unfortunately it's in French. Is there anyone here that is willing to help me with translation?

I always use This free translator. It seems more accurate than many others.

I am not too bad at French, only a bit rusty, so I could have a go if you like. Unless we have any fluent French speakers on here.

[Laura N]

To me, it isn't enough to determine whether Belgium will give or authorize a refund of VAT. The procedure of getting a customs stamp at the airport when you depart is something you do, if I remember my trips to Europe, when you've been a tourist in the country and paid VAT on a large purchase and want a refund. I can see how a government would say "that's our procedure, so that's what we need to issue a refund." But that applies to VAT that is properly charged -- all customers within the EU are supposed to pay the VAT, and only some can get a refund.

In this case, the merchant may have incorrectly charged VAT on an item shipped outside the EU. So, if that was in error, I would look to the merchant as the person wholly responsible.

I probably am cynical, but I really wouldn't look for the Belgium tax authorities to be eager to help a non-citizen get a refund of VAT, or any other part of the Belgium government to go after a Belgium business in a dispute with a lone American consumer. It seems to me that the American government wouldn't, if the roles were reversed. I think your best bet here is the credit card company.

[Neo]

To me, it isn't enough to determine whether Belgium will give or authorize a refund of VAT. The procedure of getting a customs stamp at the airport when you depart is something you do, if I remember my trips to Europe, when you've been a tourist in the country and paid VAT on a large purchase and want a refund. I can see how a government would say "that's our procedure, so that's what we need to issue a refund." But that applies to VAT that is properly charged -- all customers within the EU are supposed to pay the VAT, and only some can get a refund.

In this case, the merchant may have incorrectly charged VAT on an item shipped outside the EU. So, if that was in error, I would look to the merchant as the person wholly responsible.

I probably am cynical, but I really wouldn't look for the Belgium tax authorities to be eager to help a non-citizen get a refund of VAT, or any other part of the Belgium government to go after a Belgium business in a dispute with a lone American consumer. It seems to me that the American government wouldn't, if the roles were reversed. I think your best bet here is the credit card company.

Im getting that feeling too, as I stated very clearly in my initial message that I am not able to communicate in French, Dutch or German. Based on some of the other posts, this appears to be standard operating procedures for Conid.

That said, I would have not made this purchase if I had known the aggravation involved afterwards.

[Laura N]

To me, it isn't enough to determine whether Belgium will give or authorize a refund of VAT. The procedure of getting a customs stamp at the airport when you depart is something you do, if I remember my trips to Europe, when you've been a tourist in the country and paid VAT on a large purchase and want a refund. I can see how a government would say "that's our procedure, so that's what we need to issue a refund." But that applies to VAT that is properly charged -- all customers within the EU are supposed to pay the VAT, and only some can get a refund.

In this case, the merchant may have incorrectly charged VAT on an item shipped outside the EU. So, if that was in error, I would look to the merchant as the person wholly responsible.

I probably am cynical, but I really wouldn't look for the Belgium tax authorities to be eager to help a non-citizen get a refund of VAT, or any other part of the Belgium government to go after a Belgium business in a dispute with a lone American consumer. It seems to me that the American government wouldn't, if the roles were reversed. I think your best bet here is the credit card company.

Im getting that feeling too, as I stated very clearly in my initial message that I am not able to communicate in French, Dutch or German. Based on some of the other posts, this appears to be standard operating procedures for Conid.

That said, I would have not made this purchase if I had known the aggravation involved afterwards.

Yeah, sympathies. I guess I'd just point out that that fellow -- Werner? -- may think he acted correctly. So I'd keep that in mind, too. I think it's an unfortunate situation, aggravated by different languages and different legal regimes. If he's operating in error when he charges VAT to everyone, I hope this spurs him to retain an expert in VAT who can properly advise him going forward.

[tandaina]

I'm passable at French, maybe post the French message and we can get a readable translation?

[Woody]

It would be nice to have warner or fountainbellle for that matter to post on the forum. Fountainbelle is very active on FPN but not so much here. It would also be very helpful to have a disclaimer on the Conid website explaining how they use or not use VAT. it's pretty sobering factoring I customs and VAT. On another note, isn't it great that we can discuss this openly on this forum? had this started on the aforementioned site, well, it wouldn't have gotten post 2.

[Neo]

It would be nice to have warner or fountainbellle for that matter to post on the forum. Fountainbelle is very active on FPN but not so much here. It would also be very helpful to have a disclaimer on the Conid website explaining how they use or not use VAT. it's pretty sobering factoring I customs and VAT. On another note, isn't it great that we can discuss this openly on this forum? had this started on the aforementioned site, well, it wouldn't have gotten post 2.

I haven't spent any time on the other forum, but that seems a bit too much moderation.

[Chrissy]

It would be nice to have warner or fountainbellle for that matter to post on the forum. Fountainbelle is very active on FPN but not so much here. It would also be very helpful to have a disclaimer on the Conid website explaining how they use or not use VAT. it's pretty sobering factoring I customs and VAT. On another note, isn't it great that we can discuss this openly on this forum? had this started on the aforementioned site, well, it wouldn't have gotten post 2.

I haven't spent any time on the other forum, but that seems a bit too much moderation.

You haven't missed much

[KrazyIvan]

From personal experience, I have never paid VAT on anything I have purchased from Euro zone nations.