Since leaving the EU, new customs rules have disrupted deliveries to Europe, with vast numbers of parcels being delayed, refused or returned to sender. And just as the dust is starting to settle, on 1st July the €22 VAT threshold (De Minimis) exemption on goods imported to the EU will be removed. But this does mean that selling to the EU just got easier and cheaper, we asked Bobbie Ttooulis, Group Marketing Director for GFS to tell us more:
Bobbie Ttooulis is also a speaker at Tamebay Live which starts this coming Monday the 17th of April. To understand what it takes to have a winning delivery strategy, join her masterclass at on Thursday to get first-hand delivery expertise and consumer insights across these regions from GFS and guests from their carrier partners Hermes, UKP Worldwide, Linex Solutions, and DHL
These new changes mean that ALL commercial goods imported to the EU will be subject to VAT – regardless of value.
So, what does this mean? If you ship to the EU, it means you will need to:
- Collect VAT at the checkout based on the consumer’s location
- Declare VAT for customs clearance
- Submit VAT returns
You might be thinking that this just makes shipping to the EU even more complex than it already is.
BUT there are ways you can make it easier, here’s how…
1. Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
The government is introducing an electronic portal where you can register to get a single VAT IOSS ID number that applies to distance sales in all 27 EU countries. This will enable you to collect, declare and account for VAT and pay your bill directly to the EU Tax Authorities via a periodic tax return – for goods up to the value of €150.
This will simplify the collection, declaration, and payment of VAT for distance sales to EU customers and potentially avoid additional carrier fees for VAT clearance.
What are the key benefits of the new IOSS?
- Ease and simplicity: You’ll get a single EU IOSS VAT ID number that will cover VAT registration in all of the 27 EU member states
- A positive experience for customers: Customers will have complete VAT cost transparency at the moment of purchase
- Improved cash flow: VAT payments can be made monthly directly to EU tax authorities
What else do you need to know? Read GFS’s FAQs for more information.
2. Duty Deferment Account
A Duty Deferment Account allows you to postpone payment of customs duty, excise duty and VAT by up to 46 days so you can pay fees for all shipments once a month by Direct Debit rather than per consignment at the point of import.
This will help shipments clear customs quickly, so parcels can be delivered faster, and it will also save you time and money and help you better manage cash flow.
You can apply for a Duty Deferment Account here.
3. One Stop Shop Delivery and Returns
As well as the Import One Stop Shop for VAT, GFS can provide everything you need for delivery and returns!
From finding the best and most cost-effective international shipping services, to technology that calculates Duties & Taxes, generates electronic Customs documents and manages paperless global returns – you can get everything you need in one place!
GFS International eCommerce Service
Access the widest network of global carriers through just one dynamic delivery service.
Using super-smart routing technology, we route each parcel to the best performing, cost-effective carrier service. So, all you need to do is choose from 1 of 3 service level options – Express, Plus and Economy – and we do the rest!
Find out more here.
GFS Technology
A complete toolkit of technology solutions that simplifies the complexity of new EU customs processes to take away the pain of cross-border delivery.
GFS Checkout:
- Offers customers a wide range of flexible delivery options at the checkout
- Automatically calculate Duties & Taxes and supports DDU (Deliver Duty Unpaid) and DDP (Deliver Duty Paid) delivery options
GFS Selector:
- Multi-carrier parcel labelling with automatically generated tracking
- With Paperless Trade for electronic customs documentation
GFS Global Returns:
- Paperless returns portal with 200+ returns services, 320,000 drop points and 35 languages
- Electronic customs declarations for inbound duty relief
6 Responses
will this apply to private individuals sending parcels to EU, and small organisations, such as classic car clubs with members in EU countries, who send occasional parcels to the EU and probably are not VAT registered in the UK and only have accounts prepared once a year?
Still way too complicated and expensive for most small sellers. You still have to register for VAT in each country you ship to, which is a job in itself, and you have to have a nominated person and address in those countries, and a Euro address for returns.
We are going to stop selling to EU and concentrate on the UK and rest of the world. We haven’t got the time, inclination or energy for this nonsense, life is for living, not paper work filling.
jonty says it all
its easier to ship to Paris Texas than it is Paris France
It’s one registration in one member state, to declare VAT for ALL member states. It’s just like collecting UK vat at checkout, instead you’re collecting it for France, Ireland, Germany, etc and sending it in a separate EU VAT return. This is a good thing for EU customers buying from UK companies and should help reduce the ‘friction’ at customs.
If you’re not VAT registered in the UK I can see why you may not want to do it, but if you’re already accustomed to how VAT works, this is a no-brainer.
It has been a challenge for myself. Considering I was selling 75% of my products into the EU. We are having no issues right with the bargain bucket stuff now but keeping everything under €22…
It is way to complicated to do direct so I will stop selling direct to the EU..
The UK market is just a race to the bottom and simply will not make up the short fall., kinda running out of ideas
Trying to read the OSS message from eBay was just confusing also. From what I understand the marketplace will charge the VAT and provide the OSS number required to prove vat has been taken.