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Just over 20 large online retailers whose annual Jersey-related turnover is above the £300,000 minimum required to charge GST on all online goods have registered to do so.
However, a list of the businesses will not be published because it is confidential information under the island’s tax laws.
From the beginning of this month, any online retailer whose sales into Jersey exceed £300,000 a year has to register with Revenue Jersey and charge GST on the full amount when a customer clicks to buy it.
Businesses with turnover below that amount do not need to register, therefore they do not charge GST themselves; however, items will be held by Customs until the customer pays the tax.
With these smaller retailers, 5% GST will only be charged on items which cost more than £60. This is because the administrative cost of collecting the tax is deemed to be more than the tax itself at and below that ‘de minimis’ level.
It means that an islander, for example, buying a £40 item bought through a large retailer will pay £2 GST but there will be no tax to pay when purchasing the same item through a retailer whose annual Jersey-related turnover is less than £300,000.
Pictured: eBay and Amazon are some of the large online retailers that islanders have reported are now charging GST at the point of sale.
Express made a Freedom of Information request for a list of larger retailers who are registered to charge GST on the full amount of an item.
The request was denied because information obtained under the island’s tax laws cannot be used for any other purpose other than for the reason it was provided.
However, Amazon and eBay are two retailers which are known to be now charging GST at the point of sale.
Revenue Jersey did confirm that 23 GST registrations have been received in 2023 from overseas retailers. This is on top of firms that registered in previous years and those which the authority expect will register.
According to market statistics website Statista, the largest online stores in the UK include Amazon, John Lewis, Next, Ocado, Argos, Ebay, Etsy, Tesco and Dunelm.
Concerns have been raised that some online firms are charging VAT in addition to GST. Asked what it could do to stop this happening, Revenue Jersey said: “Exports from the UK will normally be zero-rated for VAT purposes.
“There is no obligation on Jersey customers to pay UK VAT on goods dispatched direct to Jersey.
“Where appropriate, Revenue Jersey has sought to intervene to remind UK retailers that Jersey is not in the UK VAT zone.
“This has been done generally through organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry and British Retail Consortium; and specifically on a number of occasions.”
Pictured: Deputy Ian Gorst told the States Assembly last week that Ministers will "seek to intervene" if retailers charge both VAT and GST.
The Treasury Minister also told the States Assembly last week that the Government will pursue UK retailers who double-charge VAT with GST.
Over 1,500 islanders have signed a petition which calls on the Government to reverse their decision to add GST to most online retailers.
Now that the petition has reached over 1,000 signatures, Ministers will have to respond.
At 5,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in the States Assembly.
Islanders have until 3 January 2024 to sign the petition HERE.
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