It’s with heavy heart that I have to announce that from next Friday, June 26th, I will stop all sales into the EU.
This is because of yet more new/tightened regulations coming into force July and August.
In July the EU is introducing a small parcel tax of 3 euro per line item/code in an order for all order under 150euros.
Not per parcel, per line item.
So if you order 4 pots, 2 capacitors, a switch and a control plate that will be an extra 12 euros tax.
I would have to add the charge on my site and continue to collect the VAT as I have been doing, or stop doing that and go back to leaving the duty and taxes up to the recipient.
If I do that, the local authority also adds a handling charge.
It becomes unviable for low value orders.
The actual duty rate on that order would be 2.7% of the control plate price, or 18 pence / 15 cents in real terms. The switch, caps and pots have a 0% duty rate. So I’m also opposed philosophically as it is ripping off my customers.
I had planned to start making all orders into the EU DDP – deliver duty paid – regardless of value. That way the small parcel tax is moot and customers receive their goods with no more to pay and only pay the real duty and tax owed.
It would require some coding of my website but I was investigating options.
However I’ve only just discovered that in August the EU is strengthening the packaging regulations (EPR/PPWR) and, depending on your classification, a business may have to register and pay fees in every EU country they plan to sell into.
Not one registration for the EU, one registration per country.
This is not just for companies outside the EU either, before the “Thanks Brexit” comments start. This applies to EU companies too. A small Swedish crafting manufacturer will need to register in every other EU country they wish to sell into (guess which real life complaint I’ve read online).
There are no minimum levels or exemptions for micro businesses as there are now with some of the current national schemes.
The volume of my EU sales make this a complete non-starter, and therefore I will no longer be able to sell to the EU.
If you were thinking of placing an order, please do so before noon on 26th June.
I may still sell orders over 150 euros until August but it will be on a case by case basis – get in touch.
I could be completely wrong about the packaging regs – the UK government seems spectacularly uninterested in helping SMEs compete on the world stage and the info I’ve found independently is dense and confusing. I just can’t justify the ever increasing costs for ever decreasing market share.
Sorry folks.
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