Information on international shipments

With regard to international shipments, several changes occurred starting from 2021. Customs clearance has been extended even to simple correspondence and Brexit as well has changed the way shipments are handled in comparison to the past.

VAT and customs duties

Heroes Models operates under a Flat rate scheme, which allows us to not add any VAT to our products. At the same time however, VAT cannot be considered separately, as is common practice for international shipments. Here below you can find a brief explanation of what happens when you order from us, from different areas.

Italy and EU

In Italy and EU there will be no changes in comparison to the past. There is therefore no need to pay any additional charge or VAT, shipments are running smoothly, and goods circulate within Italy and the EU exactly in the same way, without any customs clearance or similar.

Non-EU countries

Outside the EU, there are two possible scenarios. For orders lower than 22 euros (excluding shipping costs), no additional charges will be applied. For orders above 22 euros, VAT and any applicable customs duties will apply. These charges will depend on the country receiving the goods, will be calculated by customs authorities, and paid by the customer directly to the courier when the delivery takes place.

UK after Brexit

Even though the UK after Brexit is considered as a non-EU Country, special trade agreements for imports from the EU have been put in place. This creates a particular scenario when it comes to selling goods.

Just like in the case of non-EU countries, VAT must be added; however, this will happen regardless of the value of the order. Unlike other countries, VAT payment is not collected directly at delivery but at the point of sale from the seller itself. For this reason, UK-based clients will be charged 20% more at the placement of the order (20% corresponding to UK VAT), and it will be us then paying VAT directly to the UK government.

In order to do that, we had to register for VAT in the UK and make all the necessary adjustments.

This allows to speed up customs clearance and no additional customs duties will have to be paid. Once you place the order, nothing else will have to be paid. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused, but we had to comply with the new rules. 

Our UK VAT registration number is 373653380. You can verify our VAT registration at the following link: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-vat-number/enter-vat-details

If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@heroesmodels.it