In this blog you can read all about Brexit and how it is expected to affect your webshop. However, negotiations are still in full swing. Since Brexit took effect on Friday 31 January 2020, a transition period began. The transition period will last until 31 December 2020 and will be used to negotiate the future relationship between the UK and the EU. Until that date, all existing EU rules and laws for the UK will apply. If approved by both the EU and the UK, the transition period may be extended once until 31 December 2022. This means that the information is subject to change. Please bear this in mind when making your preparations for Brexit.
MyParcel and Brexit.
The United Kingdom, which consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is going to leave the European Union: Brexit. The favourable conditions that apply to trade between EU countries will no longer apply to trade between EU countries and the UK. The conditions affect delivery times, delivery conditions, customs formalities and tariffs.
As part of our preparations for Brexit, we expect that we will need to adapt all our processes and systems so that post and parcels containing goods for the UK will be processed as non-EU country shipments. Not yet familiar with international shipping? Our blog will help you on your way. The table below shows the differences between the two types of shipments.
EU shipment |
|
| Weight | 0 – 23 kg |
| Minimum size | 10 x 10 x 1 cm |
| Maximum size | 100 x 70 x 58 cm |
| Total parcel size | 300 cm (= L + 2 x B + 2 x H) |
| Insurance | Signature upon receipt and insurance up to a purchase value of €500 is included by default. |
| Track & Trace | Available for you and your customer |
World shipment |
|
| Weight | 0 – 20 kg |
| Minimum size | 10 x 10 x 1 cm |
| Maximum size | 100 x 50 x 50 cm |
| Insurance | Signature upon receipt and insurance up to a purchase value of €200 is included by default. |
| Track & Trace | Available for you and your customer. |
How will Brexit affect your webshop?
To give you a complete picture of what to expect after Brexit when you ship parcels to the UK, we have summarised the expected changes for you:
- Customs formalities for the delivery of goods outside of the European Union
If you supply goods outside of the European Union, free movement of goods and services will not apply and you have to deal with customs formalities. In that case, you will be required to complete customs forms for each shipment. More information about the requirements for shipping to countries outside of the European Union is available here. Remember that tariffs, checks, transmission times and additional surcharges may change due to customs clearance. - Export declaration
Usually, you have to inform the Dutch Customs administration that you are exporting goods to a country outside of the EU using an export declaration. To do so, you will need an EORI number. If you send a parcel through MyParcel, which is part of PostNL, you do not need an EORI number. - Use 0% VAT rate
If you send products to a country outside of the European Union, the VAT return will change. This is because different VAT rules and procedures apply when goods are exported to a non-EU country. You will need to use the 0% VAT rate for exports with destinations outside of the EU. You also need to be able to prove, based on your administration, that you have correctly applied the 0% rate. For a detailed explanation, you can visit the website of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. - Requesting and formatting export documents
At the moment, we do not yet know which export documents will be required in the future trade relationship between the European Union and the UK. When we have more clarity on this, you will be able to use the EU Market Access Database to find out which documents you need to complete. You can then request the export documents from the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. You might need the ATA Carnet, Certificate of Origin or EUR.1 / EUR-MED documents, for example. - Import tariffs and other levies
If no agreement is reached between the EU and the UK by 29 March 2019, meaning that there are no specific agreements on import tariffs and other levies, these will be subject to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules after Brexit. The WTO import tariffs for the UK are not yet known, but are likely to be set at the same level as the EU’s current WTO import tariffs. As a result, import duties and levies from the UK to the EU could be extremely high. - Product requirements are subject to change
When exporting to countries outside of the European Union, you may be required to make adjustments to your product, product packaging, instructions and labels. It is not yet clear whether and how the UK’s product requirements will change. When this becomes clear, you will need to check whether your product is suitable for the export market. - Local legislation
When exporting goods to a country outside of the EU, you need to check whether the export country has different laws and regulations that you have to comply with. You should check whether there are other laws and regulations after Brexit that you need to adhere to. When there is more clarity on this, the laws and regulations will be available on RVO.nl. - Transmission time may change
As a result of Brexit, the Customs authorities will have a greater range of responsibilities. Since carriers will have to cross the EU border after Brexit, there will be changes in trade procedures and customs clearance. This means you will need to factor in a longer transmission time for shipping your products to the UK. This will be especially important if the UK is not prepared for this by having enough staff or a clear procedure in place, for example. - Impact on tariffs
The precise details of the impact of Brexit on tariffs is not known. As soon as we know more about this, we will provide more information. Remember that tariffs, checks, transmission times and additional surcharges may change due to Brexit. - Additional inspections
Additional inspections may be introduced when the UK leaves the European Union. The inspections may concern animal and plant products, for example. - Technical changes for your webshop
Brexit will affect both the MyParcel system and the various integrations with available plug-ins. Our blog on technical updates explains the effect this will have on your business operations and your link with your webshop. In any case, you can assume that we are adapting the processes on our side in order to be able to process shipments to the UK as a non-EU country.
Here are the most important changes expected to affect you as a webshop when Brexit takes effect. The changes partly depend on whether a hard or soft Brexit solution is found – in other words, whether the EU and the UK reach an agreement before 31 October 2019.
The impact of Brexit on your link.
Curious about the impact of Brexit on your link? Read this blog.
If you have any questions or comments or something is still unclear, do not hesitate to contact us. Email us at info@myparcel.nl. We’re here to help.