Firstly let us clarify, UKDIRECT.NET & ShopFromBritain.com are Shopping Guides, we sell no products and simply help you find the best deals for UK online shopping from the EU & elsewhere, enabling you to buy direct from British brands & businesses, wherever you are in the world. Our services have not changed, they remain Free for you to use in all respects.
The Dust has settled and the future relationship between the UK and EU has FINALLY been resolved. So how does that effect you when buying online from the UK in the EU? Here's a quick guide:
For UK Retailers the situation is as follows:
Customs Duty applicable on goods imported into the EU from the UK after 1st Jan 2021
The partnership agreement between the EU and the UK states that the customs duties are determined on most goods as follows:
No customs duty is due on Goods worth less than 150 Euros (approx £135).
Goods worth more than 150 euros (£135) and manufactured outside the UK are subject to customs duty when they are sent from the UK.
Payment of customs duty is not required for consignments of a value exceeding 150 euros (£135) sent from the UK when the goods originate there.
VAT Due on EU delivered sales after 1st January 2021:
As of the 1st Jan 2021 UK online businesses will treat EU customers as shopping from a third party country and the automatic addition of UK VAT no longer applies. However platforms such as Amazon, Ebay etc will automatically charge the relevant EU VAT at checkout, as they are taking payment from you. Likewise it is the responsibility for British Brands selling to you directly to either change online checkout to apply EU VAT for your country, or choose not to charge VAT at all and defer payment to you as the customer on entry into your country by the delivery company (If discovered). Each brand will have different policies, which may change over the coming months, so it is advised to clarify the details at checkout before purchase.
We hope that this helps you understand the situation in simple terms.
For those wishing to explore the agreement between the EU & the UK in greater detail you can do so here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/relations-united-kingdom_en
To Discover GREAT British brands and UK retailers who ship to the EU, simply start here. Happy Shopping 🙂