Low value Consignment relief – Another smart Tax idea by HMRC

Low value consignment relief (no I’m not talking about a contagious disease) is one of the pearls of wisdom of the Government in relation to VAT. Basically, it’s a kind of officially sanctioned tax avoidance scheme.  Goods with a value of £18 or less from Channel Islands do not attract VAT so businesses can set up mail order operations to do that. How successive Governments failed to prevent the abuse of this scheme escapes me. Shouldn’t it be abolished? In fact is there any reason why the Channel Islands should have those massive tax reliefs whilst the rest of us work hard and pay tax?


Henry Ejdelbaum