to me its a pretty foregone conclusion that hmrc are working to a worked out agenda .i.e most small stuff coming via china is allowed through ,(perhaps they cant read the writing) or is there some agreement because of Hong Kong ,but most other places are pulled ,and god forbid at this moment in time you buy anything from the good old u.s.a then the full weight of vat and import duties prevail ,I do wonder if this will change if we have a trade agreement after Brexit though ,that could be interesting , I dont think imports through Canada are subject to controls though (certainly never used to be) .
but coming back to this game I have no problem with companies that let you know there grey importers and lay out correct prices and delivery times etc as its then your choice to buy or not .... but what really does irk me is the (often) Chinese firms that sell stuff on e.bay pretending that a item is u.k based and then you have to wait weeks for it to get here . I have a item for my dog on order that has turned out that way and they will definetly be getting negative feedback when/if it arrives .I,m not the most patient of chaps
Nearly all of the electronic and other hi-tech stuff is made in Schenzen, which is right next to Hong Hong, and even products made on the other side of China are often 'exported' to Hong Kong, where controls seem to be even more relaxed than in mainland China. I can't see why leaving the EU should change this evasion culture, and I can't see why a trade agreement with the USA would stop the correct amount of duty and VAT being charged.
There are a lot of different ways of evading import duties and VAT, many items are despatched via Chinapost with totally false content descriptions (e.g. described as VAT-free childrens clothing) or as a free sample, or the value is dramatically understated, all to evade taxes.
Another popular method is for the goods to be delivered to a warehousing facility located in the UK, they simply stick the item in a Jiffy bag or similar and post it to the customer, they aren't breaking the law because they are simply acting as agent for the seller, who is in China and beyond the reach of HMRC. The goods can be seized, but that's about it.
Obviously HMRC know all about all of these methods but without the political will do actually stop it, which would involve giving HMRC the resources they need, there's little that they can do.
The issue with this approach is that they'd have to make allowances for legitimate UK businesses below the VAT registration threshold to sell without being penalised with a tax burden they're not liable for - otherwise they end up pricing small, growing businesses out of the market. The minute you provide a channel for bypassing the VAT, it'll get exploited. Chinese sellers will just set up dozens of accounts and keep their sales volume below the VAT threshold within each one.
Yes, it might get complicated, but that should not be a reason for doing nothing. As things stand, legitimate British businesses, both small and large, are being discriminated against, simply because they don't break the law.
out...................... just yet 
