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Buying from EU / importing to UK post Brexit


Dyaque

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Morning all

Does anyone yet have a handle on the post-Brexit position re buying goods in the EU and importing them into the UK?

I am thinking specifically about buying something from CarBone, which lists prices exc VAT and states no VAT for non-EU purchasers.  

I guess a UK purchaser will now be a non-EU purchaser.  But what shenanigans will ensue at the border?

I presume VAT will be charged by HMRC - still 20%?  

What is the process - will the shipment be impounded at the border and a letter sent to me asking for payment?

Are there any other duties, charges, costs etc to factor in?

Thanks in advance.

 

Jack

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I would check with them. But my understanding is that they have to register with the UK for a VAT account and then pay the VAT to them directly? Then there are import duties too over £135? Ebay seem to be charging it on behalf of their private sellers. I am avoiding ordering parts from the EU until this is all sorted out.

I am sure someone with better knowledge than me will be along soon

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If it's Royal Mail then the thievin' ****s will also take an extra £8 off you for telling you you need to pay the import and or VAT charges (if not paid at the point of sale) 😠

Edited by GaryH
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What duties ??

Should only be paying for UK VAT  and any nominal handling/admin charges on the part of the carrier - short term whilst the carriers and customs come to terms with the change then likely that all carriers will absolutely fleece small customers at the end of B2C transactions. 

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It will be like bringing things in from USA. You will either get a letter from the carrier asking you to pay the VAT, Duty and Clearance Fees or when they knock at the door the will ask for it then.

Carriers are just starting to use road again, DPD started on Wednesday

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We do lots of shipping and I'm sure Matt does too!

If the value is less than £135, the seller will charge VAT on the purchase.  You don't need to do anything.

If over, the VAT will be charged on import by the courier.

THERE IS NO DUTY IN EITHER CASE.

Like most changes to systems, some businesses are using this as an opportunity to add extra fees.  We import from Denso, Mahle and NIssens - all based in the EU.  One of those, chose to add a 'handling' fee.   When challenged, the fee was refunded and will not be charged again.   These companies would ALREADY have to be registered for VAT in UK so it smacks of opportunism.  

Reversing the situation, imagine if we started to add a handling fee for filling in a customs form?  This is something we have had to do for non EU countries all along.  We would never do that.  The forms are all automated anyway so in the words of the head of Nissan yesterday, the cost is 'Peanuts'. 

We have had a number of shipments from the EU last week where the seller has done everything right and there really is no change to anything.  Yes, the shipping took a little longer, but this is largely down to the pandemic.

Let's not conflate Brexit with Covid.  Right now, there is global chaos in shipping.  Most couriers have restrictions in place.  We sent an AC to Puerto Rico last week.  Shipping has increased from £160 to £267!

 

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Shipping in containers from China at the moment is about twice as expensive as it was just 6 months ago. It’s opportunism but if a cartel controls the worlds shipping, whose going to stop them. Expect higher prices on anything (which is most things) from the Far East very soon. 

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On 23/01/2021 at 10:42, Busybee said:

Shipping in containers from China at the moment is about twice as expensive as it was just 6 months ago. It’s opportunism but if a cartel controls the worlds shipping, whose going to stop them. Expect higher prices on anything (which is most things) from the Far East very soon. 

We're having to airfreight loads of componentry at the moment to keep production lines going in the face of surge demand that's been going since middle of 2020. There's issues with shortages of all sorts of stuff out of China at the moment: semiconductors, glass and aluminium, etc. All of which is going to result in increased prices, and re-shoring production.

Saw the other day that an importer of trampolines is considering manufacturing in the UK, because transport costs are now more than 50% of the landed cost of the trampolines.

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6 hours ago, njpcarrera32 said:

We're having to airfreight loads of componentry at the moment to keep production lines going in the face of surge demand that's been going since middle of 2020. There's issues with shortages of all sorts of stuff out of China at the moment: semiconductors, glass and aluminium, etc. All of which is going to result in increased prices, and re-shoring production.

Saw the other day that an importer of trampolines is considering manufacturing in the UK, because transport costs are now more than 50% of the landed cost of the trampolines.

Yup don’t doubt it. Pretty much everything is going to go up with the combined effects of covid, Chinese shipping and import taxes on products from the EU. We’ve had no choice but to bite the bullet and pay the increased shipping. Nett effect is our prices will go up. Wether that will impact business in the next few months I honestly don’t know but my guess is once the honeymoon of furlough and half hearted business support is over, it’s going to be a tough world for a small business to survive in. Cheers big ears. Let’s hope he has a plan! But my betting is on nope, fend for yourselves. 

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Keep hearing about all these import duties for "goods" from the EU ?   - Presumably this is only for goods of non EU origin?  

 

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I hope this situation will kick start more design and manufacture in this country. For years when I have tried to find particular items for a project a solution always seemed to be available in the US but I could never find a matching item in the UK or EU. Perhaps now people will look to get things made in the UK.

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19 hours ago, topcarrera said:

Keep hearing about all these import duties for "goods" from the EU ?   - Presumably this is only for goods of non EU origin?  

 

Andy, I believe it now also applies to goods originating from within the EU where the value exceeds £135.

Imported EU goods with a value above £135 now attract import duty according to the Commodities Codes list, plus UK VAT (if applicable), plus whatever the carrier’s clearing charge might be (DHL are 2.5% for example).

EU imports below the £135 value should be simple - so long as the EU seller can be bothered to register with HMRC (the EU seller is now obliged to raise the UK VAT regardless of consignment value). Many are not it seems.

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, mean in green said:

Andy, I believe it now also applies to goods originating from within the EU where the value exceeds £135.

Imported EU goods with a value above £135 now attract import duty according to the Commodities Codes list, plus UK VAT (if applicable), plus whatever the carrier’s clearing charge might be (DHL are 2.5% for example).

EU imports below the £135 value should be simple - so long as the EU seller can be bothered to register with HMRC (the EU seller is now obliged to raise the UK VAT regardless of consignment value). Many are not it seems.

 

 

 

If the goods are of EU origin then in virtually all cases (i.e.  not alcohol, tobacco etc.) then no "duty" is due.   The prevailing duty associated with the relevant commodity code will be applied if goods are wholly are in large part of non EU origin.  For serious traders including volume B2C the necessary declaration paperwork is pretty simple.  I guess in the short term a lot of traders particularly smaller ones wont feel it worthwhile to bother with this and goods will be shipped to customer in UK without this (declaration of country of origin) and duty will then be due.  I'm waiting for an Italian manufactured exhaust middle section for my Lancia to arrive from a German trader in a few weeks - lets see what happens.

At work we are continuing to trade products with the EU member states (import and export) in big volumes and value on zero tariff basis.  (All UK/EU manufactured). For serious traders its "relatively" straightforward.

Will my company have to pay import duties on goods I want to import from GB? The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all trade in goods originating in the EU or the UK. The zero tariff and zero quota provisions apply to all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin (see section on Preferential Treatment from p. 14 below). This means that tariffs may apply to goods that are not EU or UK originating.

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On 26/01/2021 at 11:57, Busybee said:

I'd love to think so but it'll likely transpire that the costs of things will just go up by 10 or 20%. Unless government backs manufacturing, its an expensive game to start up generally speaking. 

No, the cost of things won’t actually go up.     What will happen is that opportunity to buy imported products that are 10 to 20% cheaper will be less.

The 10 to 20% saving that we have ‘enjoyed’ has only been possible because we have turned a blind eye to working conditions in far away places or atrocious climate damage.   Now is the time to build our economy by paying the correct price for goods made without these consequences, to own our emissions and pay people proper wages.  

Btw, we started from nothing with a group buy on here.   Never borrowed a penny or had any government backing.  

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2 hours ago, Jonny Hart said:

No, the cost of things won’t actually go up.     What will happen is that opportunity to buy imported products that are 10 to 20% cheaper will be less.

Which of course has very little to do with Brexit

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11 hours ago, Jonny Hart said:

No, the cost of things won’t actually go up.     What will happen is that opportunity to buy imported products that are 10 to 20% cheaper will be less.

The 10 to 20% saving that we have ‘enjoyed’ has only been possible because we have turned a blind eye to working conditions in far away places or atrocious climate damage.   Now is the time to build our economy by paying the correct price for goods made without these consequences, to own our emissions and pay people proper wages.  

Btw, we started from nothing with a group buy on here.   Never borrowed a penny or had any government backing.  

Congrats on the business Jonny. Always good to hear of a success story. I started my business in exactly the same way. No bank loans, grants etc. A few quid of my own and it organically grew. It’s satisfying right.
But it sounds like you’re having a rant at world economics rather than brexit, duties or the current hike in global shipping prices. 
You supply niche products in a niche market? Don’t think your pricing model is easily transferable to mass market goods. Someone will always make shoes or fly swats cheaper. You’re either in the game or looking in from afar. 

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