I paid 102.55 VAT plus an admin fee of 11 when buying a miner at 1.45BTC. BTC exchange rate at the time was roughly £375 so the VAT is very close to 20% of this value.
I hope Bitmain reads these comments from its customers, £102.55 per Ant is crazy for VAT - HRMC has now declared any Bitcoin
related purchase WILL NOT have to be subject to VAT - So please Bitmain get this checked out and comply with laws and not get us smacked on custom charges.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You've totally misinterpreted the ruling here, with your use of the word 'related'. VAT will not be applied to currency exchanges, hardware sales are as VATable as ever.
"However, HMRC's guidance issued on Monday, said VAT would not be levied, on the basis of EU rules that apply to currencies.
It said Bitcoin trading and other activities, like charges for verifying transactions, "are exempt because they fall within the definition of 'transactions, including negotiation, concerning deposit and current accounts, payments, transfers, debts, cheques and other negotiable instruments'".
But VAT will apply to suppliers of goods and services sold in exchange for Bitcoin, based on the sterling value of the virtual currency at the point of sale, HMRC said."
- source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26426550