'HMV Delivers' kiosks are reportedly being installed in phases across the chain's 240 UK branches over the next two years, with the aim of allowing customers to order products that are not currently available in their shops.

The merchandise then gets shipped over from HMV's offshore fulfilment centre in Guernsey.

Currently, all goods with a value of GBP18 or less, imported into the UK from outside the EU by individuals, benefit from "low value consignment relief" and are therefore exempt from the standard 17.5% VAT - meaning that many HMV customers will be able to purchase the goods at a lower price.

However, a spokesman for HMV was quick to play this down, pointing out to Music Week that it is a rare for the store to have items out of stock, and adding that the cost to the Treasury last year was a negligible GBP140,000:

"Our in-store HMV Delivers service enables customers to order titles that may be out of stock direct from our internet fulfilment centre. Had the value of these sales been subject to VAT last year, the VAT amount would only have been approximately GBP140,000. We expect this to remain an extremely marginal channel for sales, as the kiosks we are introducing will be to drive sales of fast growing digital downloads," he told the news service.

"Very few people used the service last year because our stores are well-stocked. We have the kiosks in five stores at the moment and we will roll it out over the next 18-24 months," he added, concluding, according to Music Week, that:

"We expect this to remain an extremely marginal channel for sales. Our aim is always to have fully stocked stores so people can find what they want to buy."