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The Brexit ship has sailed

[ February 14, 2019   //   ]

Most surface imports and exports will now arrive at their destination after Brexit day on 29 March, points out David Jinks, head of consumer research at package broker ParcelHero.
He says that UK retailers and traders who source their products from China for resale in the UK or EU are now faced with the prospect of ordering products ‘blind’ – without knowing if there will be extra duties to pay by the time they can be sold.
For example, thousands of Chinese-produced products and components shipped from China to the UK every month by sea will arrive too late for resale into the EU before Brexit Day.

He says that should the UK crash out of the EU with no deal, EU trade agreements will no longer apply to British goods, which will face significant new tariffs under WTO rules.
Sending goods by air using specialist courier services will add significant extra logistics costs compared to the slow boat from China, he adds.
IT specialist Khaos Control Solutions adds that eCommerce sellers currently importing goods from the EU, or selling to customers in the EU, may see tariffs and additional taxes on goods occur. It says that Business for Britain estimates tariffs costing British exporters £7.4 billion a year.
While smaller firms shouldn’t see too much of an impact as tariffs would be paid by the ultimate consignee unless the trader decides to pay these beforehand (not recommended) larger eCommerce enterprises may need to do some planning.
UK eCommerce sellers who sell products to consumers outside of the UK also need to consider the changes in value-added tax. If the UK leaves the EU with no Brexit deal, businesses would no longer have to collect VAT from sales to customers in the EU. No VAT means prices would most likely be lower for products, although fulfilment and shipping may be slower due to disruptions from customs and product conformity procedures.
Khaos advises putting a solution in place to help with fulfilment.

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