Vat On Safety Equipment

I am afraid that your tax-free wish will not come true. You will probably be charged a fee afterwards in the course of delivery.
With me here, unfortunately, this is a standard procedure.
Only very rarely "slips" something through.

 

https://www.chromeburner.com/uk-import-vat-and-duties
I don't believe you should be charged VAT as they are exempt VAT in the UK but I reckon you may have to claim it back or be prepared to fight the red tape brigade.

 

I wouldn't be surprised that you will need to pay. I used to get items sent from abroad to allow me to work on and then I'd send them back. I always had to pay the 20% import PLUS admin charge.

I was given the choice to pay up or not have the item delivered. I tried to explain this to try to claim the money back but lost the will to live. So I just agreed with the customer to add the import cost to their bill before they sent me anything.

I only ever lost one job, which was a piece of a Catalina Flying Boat which was to be painted as a commemoration piece to a guy's father. Mind you, the piece was about 8 feet long. Imagine what value custom's would've put on that?

 

Good luck, I hope you don’t get stung