Europe Editor
This week, as Brexit took effect, a company in Cork that sells sports posters to Europe and around the world ceased all direct online sales to the UK. There s no point having the hassle, said Wayne Mullins, a graphic designer who runs Kobe Designs. I ll just not send to the UK. I ll keep selling to the [United] States and the rest of the world.
The UK market accounts for 50% of Mullins s sales. It s a significant part of the business, but it s just not worth taking the risk for now, he said.
Within days of a zero tariff, zero quota free trade post-Brexit agreement being struck, it appears that unforeseen, unheralded or just poorly understood frictions have come to the surface, hitting companies like Kobe Designs.
Published in General on 07-01-2021 tothdst / Shutterstock.com
Sending orders online to the UK is a lot more expensive and complex after the Brexit. Some European online retailers are therefore discontinuing their deliveries to the country.
195 different tax rates”
Now that the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European single market, new VAT obligations, administrative procedures and customs formalities apply. For example, European traders wishing to sell in the UK will have to register for the separate VAT regime as the tax will now be collected at the point of sale itself rather than at import. In concrete terms, these formalities are the same as those for sending parcels from China or the United States.
EU firms refuse UK deliveries over Brexit tax changes
Some EU specialist online retailers have said they will no longer deliver to the UK because of tax changes which came into force on 1 January.
Bicycle part firm Dutch Bike Bits said from now on, it would ship to every country in the world except the UK.
“We are forced by British policy to stop dealing with British customers,” it said on its website.
Another firm, Belgium-based Beer On Web, said it was now shunning the UK “due to the new Brexit measures”.
The companies are angry because they now face higher costs and increased bureaucracy in order to comply with UK tax authorities.