Parcel carriage to the EU
Since the UK left the EU, carriage to the EU for parcels and goods now requires a little more work. From birthday presents to e-commerce businesses, major retailers' deliveries to craft businesses, we all have a need to send parcels to the EU at some point or another.
So, what are the new requirements to send goods to the EU?
Simply put, parcels now sent to the EU will be treated in the same manner as if you are shipping parcels anywhere else in the world. This means a customs declaration form must be filled in, with details as to the contents of the parcel, including the following information:
- Weight
- Value
- Commodity code
- Country of origin
It is vitally important that you get this information right. Whether you are sending a present, operating a small scale business or you are an international retailer, the consequences can be the same if you get this wrong – expensive returns!
Of course, this information can be populated online and we recommend that approach – it reduces the risk for lost paperwork!
Extra costs
Now that the UK has left the EU, there are additional taxes and VAT that can be attributed to your export (and import) consignments:
- For goods valued up to €150: If you’re selling directly to EU consumers, you have two options to pay VAT:
- Bill your account - Declare VAT at the point of import and charges your business
- Charge consumers VAT at the point of sale and declare it to the EU (for example via the IOSS platform – see below)
- For goods valued above €150: The EU VAT reform only impacts goods valued up to €150 that are sold to a consumer. For goods sold to a business as well as goods valued above this threshold, you can continue to charge, declare and pay EU VAT as you do today.
The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
In order to assist the flow of goods from the UK to the EU IOSS was formulated.
The Import One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) is the electronic portal businesses can use since 1 July 2021 to comply with their VAT e-commerce obligations on distance sales of imported goods.
What is the IOSS for?
The IOSS allows suppliers and electronic interfaces selling imported goods to buyers in the EU to collect, declare and pay the VAT to the tax authorities, instead of making the buyer pay the VAT at the moment the goods are imported into the EU as it was previously the case (for products over 22 EUR).
What are the advantages of the IOSS?
The IOSS facilitates the collection, declaration, and payment of VAT for sellers that are making distance sales of imported goods to buyers in the EU. The IOSS also makes the process easier for the buyer, who is only charged at the time of purchase, and therefore does not face any surprise fees when the goods are delivered. If the seller is not registered in the IOSS, the buyer has to pay the VAT and usually a customs clearance fee charged by the transporter.
If you would like to understand more about IOSS, then we recommend you visit the European Commission for more information https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/ioss_en
Now that we have determined the requirements to export from the UK to the EU, it is important to realise that the majority of the process for sending your parcels will remain the same as for UK couriers (click to see our section on this within the Knowledge Centre). The main differences beyond the compliance elements are in the lead times that you can expect for your parcels and in the transportation – they will only ever be sent by truck or air. Whilst some larger providers may offer an end to end solution (they will collect, transport, customs clear and offer delivery to the customer), most providers will control the UK side of the logistics themselves, before passing your parcel to third party (e.g. Mondial Relay in France) to handle the final mile delivery (delivery to the customer's location).
Where to find the perfect courier partner?
Logisto has compiled a directory of couriers that offer UK to EU services. We recommend visiting their courier focussed pages (provided) to find out more and to choose your partner.
If you are looking for couriers to support one off parcel delivery, then there are a number of parcel comparison websites that will help you select a provider. With these websites, you will be able to tailor your search to ensure your requirements are met. To locate these recommended providers, please select ‘Parcel Comparison’ in the drop-down of the LOGISTO Directory.
If there are any queries or questions on sending parcels to the EU, then please drop the team a note. We have gone through the experience of sending a single parcel as well as a massive volume for big retailers and so we will be able to support.
Thank you
LOGISTO Team