Sainsbury's store is the latest retailer to launch a CD and DVD website on the Channel Islands that takes advantage of a VAT loophole. Other retailers trading from the islands include Tesco, Amazon, ASDA and HMV.
J Sainsbury and US retail giant Best Buy have launched VAT-dodging CD and DVD websites ahead of the busy Christmas trading rush in the hope of cashing in on the booming popularity of online sales.
The pair are the latest blue-chip retailers to set up complex and circuitous shipping arrangements for goods offered on their websites for less than £18. By dispatching orders from the Channel Islands direct to customers' homes on the UK mainland, these transactions do not attract VAT under an arcane EU tax relief directive.
