Postage to France

[Headsy 197]

PO not accepting due to tunnel problems.

Said come back tomorrow,  what a shit storm 

[Mickey Finn 1,121]

It's not just France, it's pretty much global. Royal Mail has suspended all overseas delivery. I was hoping to make one last quick order to Finland before Brexit bites and UK sourced orders become subject to all that customs and money-hungry delivery firms can throw at them. So much for that.

It will be interesting to see what sort of impact the new ex-EU arrangements have on labels, distributors and retailers/dealers. Based on casual discussions with various people at events over the last couple of years, not much thought has gone into this.

[Mike 5,507]

 

 

Royal Mail International Incident Bulletin link

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5317/~/international-incident-bulletin

 

 

current situation - best check above link for the most recent news

Last updated: Wednesday 23 December 2020

Welcome to our international incident bulletin; a round up of any issues which may be affecting mail services to and from countries around the world.

We keep this information as up-to-date as possible, with information supplied to Royal Mail by the various foreign national postal authorities.

International delivery update – Temporary suspension of some international services due to Coronavirus transport impacts

This is a fast-moving situation and we are monitoring things on an hourly basis. We are working to keep as many international mail services running as possible given the current restrictions around air, road, ferry and train movements from the UK.

Royal Mail has temporarily suspended all mail services to Europe, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland.

We are keeping the situation under close and constant review.

Customers should check our website for regular updates.

Items that are already in the system will be processed as normal and made ready for dispatch. These items will be held securely until we are able to get them to their relevant destinations.

We're closely monitoring the situation and are ready to open our services as soon as we are able to once the restrictions have been lifted. We continue to explore all options.

We're working with our airline and postal/courier partners across the globe to maintain services, however delays should be expected. Many countries have implemented special measure to combat the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19, especially for signature service to maintain social distancing. The number of countries we can access is changing daily.

We strongly advise not to send items to destinations listed as ‘On suspension’.

[Mickey Finn 1,121]

Mike, apologies if this doesn't make the cut but it might be of interest to get EU-based buyers' perspectives on how the new arrangements will affect matters.

This article appeared in today's Helsingin Sanomat (leading daily newspaper):

https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000007705994.html

The trade agreement negotiated between the European Union and the United Kingdom marks changes in consumers' purchases from online shopping. On Christmas Eve, the EU and Britain agreed that trade in goods would be duty-free and not restricted by quotas, including online shopping. “From the turn of the year, goods purchased from a UK online store worth up to € 22 are not subject to customs duties or VAT. If the value of the purchase is more than 22 euros, a customs declaration must be made and Finnish 24 per cent VAT must be paid, ”says Jarkko Saksa, Head of Customs' Foreign Trade and Taxation Department.

In online shopping, the buyer usually makes a customs declaration for the import of goods over 22 euros from outside the EU. The declaration can be made free of charge in the Customs online service. Another option is for the consumer to have the goods declared to be transported to Finland, in which case an additional fee will be charged. “From the beginning of July, all British online stores, as well as goods purchased from other online stores outside the EU, must be subject to Finnish VAT. So also for shipments of less than 22 euros,” says Saksa.

Prior to the agreement, Customs estimates that customs clearance of purchases from UK online stores will increase their price by about 30 per cent if, in addition to the purchase price, transport costs, customs duties and VAT are taken into account. Saksa emphasizes that British online stores have been in the same position in customs duties since the turn of the year as, for example, Asian online stores, from which Finns make a relatively large number of purchases. However, no duty will be levied due to the outcome of the negotiations. “If the value of goods purchased outside the EU is more than € 150, you always have to pay a customs duty that varies by item. There are more than 20,000 items. On average, customs duties are roughly 2-3% of the value of a good, but they can be much higher, for example in clothing,” says Saksa.

After all, from the point of view of customs duties and VAT, the decisive factor is from which state the ordered goods come to Finland. Even if the seller is a British online store, but the goods are delivered to Finland from its warehouse in an EU Member State, no customs duties or VAT are charged. According to Saksa, British online stores have already moved their stocks to EU Member States.

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Mickey Finn
Clarification