The Consumer Council has learnt that the major Mail Order companies who still want to deliver to Jersey are now charging GST at 3p to a £1 regardless of the de minimis level. Consumers across Jersey have been receiving letters from Mail Order companies (example attached) to say that although they will still be delivering to Jersey they will now be charging GST similar to a Jersey Trader which makes no allowances for the de minimis level of £400.

This is due to the fact that the companies e.g. Kays, Marshall Ward, Additions, Great Universal etc have a return policy of usually 14 days. This means that the company still owns the goods for 14 days whilst they are in Jersey being tried by the Jersey customer. The fact that they still “own” the goods makes them on par with a Jersey trader (if briefly). As they can be seen as a Jersey trader they are allowed to register for GST with our Income Tax department and as an Approved Trader with Customs. This makes them become accountable for collecting GST at 3% like any other Jersey trader who has a taxable turn over of £300,000 or more.

The only asset to this is that as these companies experience roughly 50% in returned goods, the Jersey consumer wanting to return their goods will not have to pay GST as they would normally through an unregistered distance seller if they returned goods to them.

 The Consumer Council has received plenty of complaints about this unexpected levy and are asking the question why they were not informed by the States of Jersey that this was going to happen. Many have expressed the opinion that they would no longer be ordering from these Mail Order companies in the future. It seems that another area of consumer freedom has been axed by GST.