Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

BREXIT IS f****** ME

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Topic40151.aspx

By Grunge - 5/17/2021 7:10:52 AM

ESTOY MUY ENFADADO CON MI ENVÍO A ESPAÑA,LLEVO ESPERANDO MAS DE DOS MESES POR RETENCIONES EN ADUANA POR EL TEMA DEL BREXIT,LEÍ LAS INDICACIONES E INFORMACIÓN SOBRE EL BREXIT ANTES DE HACER MI PEDIDO PERO EN NINGÚN CASO ME EXPLICABAN QUE TENIA QUE ESPERAR TANTO. MUY MAL MI EXPERIENCIA Y NO VOLVERÉ A COMPRAR MAS PRODUCTOS ASÍ QUE SI ERES DE FUERA DE REINO UNIDO
PIENSATELO ANTES DE HACER UN PEDIDO.
By Warren (Staff) - 5/18/2021 2:11:58 PM

Sorry to hear you have been having problems.  If you would please email us your order details to sales@easycomposites.co.uk or message me and we can chase up with the courier to find out what the problem is. 

Unfortunately, like many companies trading across the border, we have come to the conclusion that the combination of restrictions, regulations, unexplained charges, and delays with courier networks, means that no system of shipping to EU customers from the UK will ever be truly 'zero friction' in the way that we had planned and that our customers deserve.

For this reason, we have taken the significant decision to open a new Easy Composites subsidiary within the EU. The new subsidiary will have a fully stocked warehouse carrying all Easy Composites products and will ship direct to customers throughout the EU. This is a huge step for Easy Composites but it will allow us to provide the quality of service that we want for our European customers - a truly frictionless experience with the added benefits of lower shipping charges, no restricted items and faster shipping to most EU countries.

We are working hard right now to establish the new warehouse and we will update the website with further information as soon as we are able to do. In the meantime, EU customers can continue to buy from Easy Composites in the UK but should read the following information carefully, which we have recently updated following 3 months of experience of shipping into the EU since Brexit:

EU VAT Registered Businesses
You will be charged NO VAT when placing an order with Easy Composites.
Due to the EU/UK FTA (free trade agreement) zero duty will apply to many products. In the cases where duty may apply (certain products not made in the UK), it will be between 3-10%.
No import duty will be charged on orders under €150/£135.
The courier service or freight company will contact you, using the email/telephone number you provided on your order, to arrange for customs clearance. As the importer you will need to provide your EORI number and complete the customs entry.
For customs clearance, the courier company will charge a 'brokerage' fee of between 2.5 - 5.0% of the value of the goods (€12 - €22 minimum) depending on the courier.
As a VAT registered business, depending on your VAT regime, import VAT may be payable at the time, or deferred. Either way, import VAT is fully reclaimable.
We have also been shown some rare examples of totally unexplained charges, shown on invoices as 'Government Charges', being applied to some orders into certain countries. We have been unable to get any explanation or justification for what these 'Government Charges' are or why they have been applied.

EU Individuals and Non-VAT Registered Businesses
Because of extra customs charges and occasional unexplained 'Government Charges', we recommend that EU individuals do not order from us until our new EU warehouse is operational (see below). If you do want to order some extra costs will apply.

Whilst we are still very happy to supply individuals and non-VAT registered businesses in the EU, extra charges for customs clearance will apply. Instead of paying UK VAT on the Easy Composites website (as before Brexit), customers will now pay import VAT when goods arrive in their country, plus a brokerage cost (€12.77 or 2.5% of the value of the goods for UPS deliveries) and potentially import duty of between 3-10% on certain products.

Before ordering, please make sure you read and understand the steps and costs below:

From the 01/01/2021 you will automatically be charged NO VAT when placing an ordering from Easy Composites. However, your own country will now charge import VAT when the goods arrive.
No import duty will be charged on orders under €150/£135. Import VAT still applies.
Due to the EU/UK FTA (free trade agreement) zero duty will apply to many products for orders over €150/£135. In the cases where duty may apply it will be between 3-10% and only apply to a limited number of non-UK made products.
When the goods arrive in your country, the courier company (UPS or TNT) will contact you, using the email/telephone number you provided on your order, to take the VAT payment (and duty, if applicable).
You will be charged the standard VAT rate for your country, usually between 19-21%, plus a 'brokerage' charge (€12.77 or 2.5% for UPS, €22 or 5% for TNT).
In rare cases, we have seen 'Government Charges' added to the invoice in some countries. It has not been possible to get any explanation of what these charges are or why they are applied.
Payment can be made by card using a link emailed by the courier (UPS, TNT, FedEx).
As noted above, we have been shown some rare examples of totally unexplained charges - shown on invoices as 'Government Charges' - being applied to some orders into certain countries. We have been unable to get any explanation or justification for what these 'Government Charges' are or why they have been applied.

It is a real shame that the "free trade" agreement has not settled down and become smoother as was originally claimed or expected.  Some of the delays and charges seem massively excessive for no real reason - other non-EU parcels seem to transit the courier networks just fine.  There seems to be a disconnect between what was supposedly agreed and the reallity, if this is down to extra complications, deliberate delays or incompetence by customs agencies is not known.  We suspect a range of factors have not helped, including the COVID restrictions that are only slowly being lifted.

As soon as our EU warehouse is operational, it will be possible to ship much more easily and freely within the EU in a similar fashion to before Brexit.  We are hoping to be be running within a few months but the large logistics of setting up means we do not have a precise date as yet.