Ms Josephine Feehily:

It gets complicated so we will send the Chairman a paper. VAT is not charged on goods exported outside the European Union. There might be general sales tax in America or Australia but there is no VAT. If goods are exported on an intra-European basis, VAT applies at the point of consumption in the other country at the other country's rate but it must be zero rated here, and this is where VIES comes in. We must be satisfied that the good is being sold properly to a VAT registered business if it is a business to business transaction. If it is a business to consumer transaction, which tends to involve e-commerce, it becomes even more complicated because of all the different countries that are involved. Different country rates must be charged by e-commerce. An Internet trader, if it is selling business to consumer, must charge the VAT of the country of consumption. That is what I mean when I say that it gets complicated.

If something is coming back for repair, there are circumstances where liability can be suspended while it is here and it is going out again. That is a high level answer.