We can NOT remove UK VAT from the shipping costs as this is a UK to UK service transaction and so is not part of the export process.

Our Summary if you don’t want to read below:

Yes, we can remove / zero rate any chairs or office furniture, etc that we sell to the EU as it is seen as an export item.
No, we can not remove / zero rate the VAT charges on the courier services used.

UK Gov / HMRC info below

Below is an extract from the gov.uk / HMRC page: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-exports-dispatches-and-supplying-goods-abroad that tries to explain VAT rules around EXPORTS from the UK to EU and non-EU countries.

Overview

If you sell, send or transfer goods out of the UK you do not normally need to charge VAT on them. You can zero rate most exports from:

• Great Britain to any destination outside the UK
• Northern Ireland to a destination outside the UK and EU

Find out what you need to do if you are making sales of goods from Northern Ireland to the EU or see notice 725.

Goods dispatched by post

You can zero rate goods you send by post to an address outside the UK unless they are being sent from Northern Ireland to an EU country.

You’ll need to use form ‘Certificate of posting goods form 132’, or ask the Post Office for a certificate of posting. If you use Royal Mail Parcel Force, they’ll give you a dispatch pack with accounting documents, a customs export declaration, and a receipt copy. The dispatch pack goes with the goods. For sales from Northern Ireland to EU customers you do not need to fill in a customs export declaration form.

Dispatch by courier

If you use courier or fast parcel services, you’ll normally be given an airways bill number for each shipment. This is acceptable evidence that the goods have gone abroad. Otherwise, they’ll give you a customs dispatch pack receipt copy.

Collection by customer

If your customer arranges to collect the goods from you, you’ll need to be sure how and when the items are leaving the UK, and what evidence of removal they’ll give you, before you agree not to charge VAT. If you have any doubts, you should take a deposit that’s the same as the VAT that would be charged. You can refund the deposit if they give you the evidence that the goods have left the country within the time limit.

VAT on exports

VAT is a tax on goods used in the UK and you do not charge VAT if goods are exported from:

• Great Britain to a destination outside the UK
• Northern Ireland to a destination outside the UK and EU .

You can zero rate the sale, as long as you get and keep evidence of the export, and comply with all other conditions. You must also make sure the goods are exported, and you must get the evidence within 3 months from the time of sale. This can be longer for goods that need processing before export and for thoroughbred racehorses.

The time of sale is the earlier of the day you:

• send the goods to your customer
• get full payment for them

You must not zero rate sales if your customer asks you to deliver them to a UK address. If the customer arranges to collect them from you (an indirect export), you may be able to zero rate the sale as long as you meet certain zero rating conditions.