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Thread: Selling into the EU post-Brexit

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  1. #1
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    Jun 2020
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    Default Selling into the EU post-Brexit

    Hi - I couldn't find any threads on this topic here. Hope I haven't missed something.

    Now that it's 2021 and 'actual Brexit' has happened, is anybody experiencing the problems noted in this article?

    'Shock Brexit charges are hurting us, say small British businesses' - Toby Helm and Michael Savage, Sun 17 Jan 2021 06.45 GMT, The (Guardian) Observer
    theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/17/shock-brexit-charges-are-hurting-us-say-small-british-businesses
    • First, a “Brexit charge”, as the couriers are calling it, an export fee of £4.50 for every parcel shipped to the EU to cover costs of extra administration and form filling that couriers must carry out
    • Second, there is a “deferment account fee” of £5 per parcel that covers couriers’ costs of pre-paying import charges in the destination country
    • Third, a “disbursement charge” which is set at different levels in each EU country with a minimum of about €14 per parcel, or calculated as a percentage of the value of the goods, whichever is the higher, plus VAT in the destination country. This covers the costs of the tax authority in the recipient country inspecting and processing the parcels.


    The quotes I get on Royal Mail Click & Drop for sending to EU countries haven't changed much since last year... e.g. £1.05 more to Germany. But nothing like their £7.25 price hike sending to the US, which presumably isn't due to Brexit. Perhaps RM will add new charges to the EU in line with other couriers soon?

    I have had fun dealing with Swiss Post/Customs, and their high fees just to 'handle' a parcel and charge VAT. That was before Brexit, and Switzerland's not in the EU anyway. But it did give me a taste of things to come sending to Europe post-Brexit.

    I'm starting to wonder if 'Paul' quoted in the Guardian article above is right...
    “As far as I can see, currently, companies like ours in the UK are not going to be able to do ‘end sales’ to customers in the EU any more. Particularly, small orders for anything under £100 will be completely impossible,” says Paul.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Default

    Its a nightmare actually Allan, but so far, our members have had nothing constructive to add. My feeling is that you might get more support if you joined a professional jewellers association.
    You might like to browse here: https://www.google.com/search?client...wellery+makers. Dennis.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    That article conflates several issue.
    1 shipping companies are charging more because they have to do more now - simply convey and deliver before brexit. Now there is a full customs procedure to follow for every package. That means looking up stuff like customs codes and filling in a full declaration
    2 To export/import into the EU VAT is now due. That has to be collected (and assume some consignees will refuse to pay in which case the shipping company either just chucks the package, returns it or writes off the tax if the package is delivered (fedex delivers to me and then bills because it knows I pay)
    3 Charges have gone up anyway because the £ has plummeted. Most against the USD, hence the huge jump in costs to there. (if you doubt this check out how package holidays have jumped by at least a quarter entirely due to the £'s fall which is entirely due to brexit, but which started the day after the referendum)
    4 Going the other way, for orders into the UK the UK govt is requiring all sellers to register for UK VAT and pay it before shipping. That's really going down well.
    5 All this is before customs decide to check that the silver items in a package comply with the nickel regs and the recipient has to pay for assay. That's not happening yet but it is part of the problem already for the shellfish people most noisily.
    6. EU truck drivers are avoiding the UK because they don't want to be stuck in a Kent lorry park for days then fined when their silly 'enter kent' permit expires as they wait for customs clearance because we don't have enough trained staff (only four years to plan this after all). Apparently it is more effective for trucks to travel full only one way and back to base empty. The costs (absent cost to the environment for two journeys instead of one) are lower to be empty than stuck in a days long customs queue.
    All of this is as a direct consequence of leaving the EU single market and customs union.
    Last edited by pearlescence; 19-01-2021 at 10:03 AM.
    Author: Pearls A Practical Guide
    www.pearlsapractical.guide
    www.Pearlescence.co.uk

  4. #4
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    Jun 2020
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    Thanks both (so far), and fully agree much of this nightmare was foretold years ago.

    I was already filling out customs codes on CN 22 forms, so at least had practice with that. And Swiss Post taught me how protracted, miserable and expensive the experience can be.

  5. #5
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    Sep 2011
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    CN22 is easy peasy.
    This is the hand carry form! Every box must be filled in correctly and then you pay the VAT or your stuff is impounded.Click image for larger version. 

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    Author: Pearls A Practical Guide
    www.pearlsapractical.guide
    www.Pearlescence.co.uk

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by pearlescence View Post
    CN22 is easy peasy.
    This is the hand carry form! Every box must be filled in correctly and then you pay the VAT or your stuff is impounded.Click image for larger version. 

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    Interesting. I've never had to complete something so elaborate for my sales to the US, Canada, Switzerland, etc. Would a pair of London-hallmarked silver earrings, cufflinks or such require a form like that when sold to an individual in the EU?

    I can make out 'European Union' on your form, but searching for 'hand carry' all I found was luggage. Does it have an official name/number?

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