Is It Legal?

[5teady_2012]

Is it Legal to sell tropical fish that you breed, in large ammounts?

If your working or not working, is it legal?

 

[WILDER]

Lol.
If you make a good profit you would have to declare it to the tax office.
But i doubt steady you would make alot out of guppy fry.

 

[5teady_2012]

I wasnt actually refering to me in person, just anyone who breeds them from home...

I breed endler, platy, mollies ( all kinds), swordtails, guppies, bristlenoses (although just started this).. and have seen thousends of fry pass through my tanks lol...

All i was wondering is, at what stage could it be classed as illegal,

say i make £100 a week of selling fish, is that legal or not? (not that im saying i do though)

 

[WILDER]

Not sure if you need a fish licence.
Do a search as selling some fish types is illegal.

 

[Nina]

Assuming you haven't bought illegal fish in the first place and are breeding from them then I think you will be fine on this front - unless guppies and endlers have been made illegal since last time I checked.

Technically, if you are selling from home and not a pet shop then you don't actually need a license to sell them although the line between a pet shop and breeding and selling from home is apparently a vague one. It is recommended that if you are going to be selling on an ongoing basis that you check with your local council regarding their individual practices.


With regards to selling the fish and making a profit - if you are only selling excess goods then you can be classed a "normal" person selling stuff they no longer require. However, if you are breeding with the sole purpose to sell and make money from the sale then you are classed as running a business and you would need to inform H M Revenue and Customs about your new business venture. Bare in mind that you have 3 months for the day you start trading to inform them or you will be liable to penalties.


People outside of the UK - this may not be relevant to you and you should check your own local laws.

 

[5teady_2012]

If i give them all away thats not illegal though is it lol

I just try to sell ones that are pretty unique (ones that are hard to get) i breed them all myself but dont make a great profit, infact i dont even do it to make a profit really, just basically so the tanks are always paying for themselves type of thing.. (im not cheap lol, just think if you breed and running out of space ( this could be classed as not needed no more right?), might as well get something bk for em) and what better than putting the earnings back in to the tanks

So is that illegal??

I tried to find some info and asked many people and most tell me, no its not illegal, even a friend who is a police officer said your not making enough for anyone to do anything about it, he said if everyone was arrested for selling pets etc, we would have no cell room left in the uk

Although i class information on here as the best, so thought i would ask here

If i had the room though i would keep all the fish i breed lol, but to be fair i dont do it to want to make a lot of money.

 

[Nina]

Just a very quick point to add, you can always ring your local councils and H M Revenue and Customs for advice and they should be able to help you further.

Just on a side note - postage - you can only post fry via Royal Mail if they are to be your main courier. If you are posting adults, then you will need a proper courier.

 

[5teady_2012]

Just a very quick point to add, you can always ring your local councils and H M Revenue and Customs for advice and they should be able to help you further.

Just on a side note - postage - you can only post fry via Royal Mail if they are to be your main courier. If you are posting adults, then you will need a proper courier.

I would never post fish ever personally.

 

[chibi]

I think you're fine. You're not a mass-market, multi-employee agency.

 

[The-Wolf]

to the best of my knowledge if you sell more than 500 animals in any 1 calendar year you will need a pet shop license.
of course this is the UK only

 

[Matt_northants]

I just trade mine in for store credit, I cant remember the last time I actually bought a fish! LOL

 

[5teady_2012]

I just trade mine in for store credit, I cant remember the last time I actually bought a fish! LOL

This where a lot of mine go,(to the LFS) for credit, but i do sell some of them as well, like the enlders.

 

[Lizzie71]

If you were making £100 per week, you would need to register with HMRC for tax & NI. If that was your only income you would be OK, but if you have a job as well, you would probably need to pay tax on your fish-related income.

I'm a professional tax adviser - if anyone is in this situation and wants some advice, drop me a PM

 

[5teady_2012]

i dont make £100 a week, i said: if i was

Mr/mrs tax man dont chase me plz

So exchanging the fish for store credit is totally legal right? no matter how many fish you take in a month?