“Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” Orders FAQ

Certain United Kingdom- and Germany-bound orders may be marked with the “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” flag in Merchant Dashboard. This FAQ walks merchants through some commonly-asked questions about this type of orders.

Orders bound for the United Kingdom

UK-bound orders shipped from outside of the UK whose expected customer-paid product price for the corresponding consignment is greater than or equal to £135.01 (excluding all other customer payments such as shipping, insurance, and taxes) are flagged as “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” orders in Merchant Dashboard, starting December 31, 2020 11:00PM UTC. Merchants are required to use specific carriers that provide Delivered at Place Plus (DAP+) services to fulfill this type of orders. Carriers that provide DAP+ services can pay VAT on behalf of customers to customs, so long as the merchant remits the VAT to the carriers.

This flag is visible under the Orders > Action Required or Orders > History page under the View Product (SKU) column for the relevant orders:

As shown in the screenshot above, carrier selection for merchants shipping from Mainland China using WishPost and from outside of Mainland China and outside of UK will be different. Specifically:

1. For merchants shipping from Mainland China using WishPost:

Merchants are required to utilize one of the following WishPost logistics channels that provide DAP+ services to fulfill this type of order:

• EQ-Express Parcel GC
• EQ-Express Parcel SC
• CNE-Standard Express
• CNE-Economy Express
• CNE–Priority Express
• CNE–Standard Express-B EU

2. For merchants shipping from outside of Mainland China and outside of the UK:

Merchants must select a Confirmed Delivery Shipping Carrier for UK-bound orders that will provide DAP+ services when shipping this type of order. For a full list of Confirmed Delivery Shipping Carriers, please see here.

To comply with UK VAT changes starting January 1, 2021 when the UK leaves the EU VAT system, there are a number of other related requirements when fulfilling UK-bound “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” orders (along with all UK-bound orders) from outside of the UK. Please see this article for more details.

 

Orders bound for Germany

Certain Germany-bound orders with order value greater than or equal to $140USD may be required to utilize one of the acceptable shipping carriers or WishPost logistics channels that offer support to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) on behalf of customers. All affected orders are indicated with a “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required”* flag in Merchant Dashboard.

* Previously, this flag was named “Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) required” but was renamed to clarify definition and prevent misinterpretation.

What are the acceptable shipping carriers for non-WishPost merchants?

For non-WishPost merchants, please select one of the following shipping carriers to fulfill affected orders:

• DHL
• FedEx
• UPS

What are the acceptable WishPost logistics channels for WishPost merchants?

If you are required to ship via WishPost, please utilize one of the following WishPost logistics channels to fulfill affected orders:

• SF E-Parcel Registered Mail
• Y-Express - General Cargo
• Y-Express - Special Cargo
• YW Air Express - General Cargo
• YW Air Express - Special Cargo

Does this PC-VAT requirement apply to German-bound orders that are shipped from within the European Union?

This PC-VAT requirement does not apply for certain Germany-bound orders released that are shipped from within the European Union (EU). Please note that an order may be initially flagged as “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” when it is released to the merchant for fulfillment. However, once the merchant updates the order’s shipping information and selects one of the following EU countries as the “Origin Country/Region”, the PC-VAT flag and requirement will be removed from the order immediately after the order is marked as “shipped” by the merchant:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

 

API-related information

What are the API-related changes that merchants should be aware of?

ERPs should prepare to intake the following new API field:

pay_customer_vat_required (This is True when it is a “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” order, and False when it is not).

Merchants should confirm whether the ERP they work with has intaken the above new API field.

The following API endpoints will be affected:

• api/v2/order
• api/v2/order/multi-get

Specifically for UK-bound “Pay Customer VAT “PC-VAT” required” orders, starting December 31, 2020 11:00PM UTC, merchants shipping from outside of Mainland China and outside of the UK are required to include certain order/fulfillment information (i.e. customer-paid price) when generating shipping labels. The required information can be found in Merchant Dashboard and via API. To learn more, please visit this article.