Shipping to EU Countries

NEW RULES & REGULATIONS

Since 1st January 2021 the rules and regulations for shipping into and out of Europe from and to the UK have changed.

For your consignment to be delivered in the most effective and efficient way, it is vital that you ensure any non-document consignments are declared in accordance with the EU-UK Trade Agreement.

Please see the below information and should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our Client Services department.

EU-UK Trade Agreement

Although the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement refers to zero tariffs and zero customs duties, this does not replace the requirement to produce a customs declaration.

Customs Declarations

All non-document consignments from the UK to the EU and from the EU to the UK will require a customs declaration with the following information:

• Complete delivery address with contact details (phone number and/or email address)
• A complete description of goods
• Reason for export
• Value for customs purposes
• Country of origin
• Commodity codes (HS Codes) - These are numbers, typically 6 to 10 digits long, which classify goods that are treated and tariffed the same way

For further information the UK Government has a tariff lookup system available here. Our online shipping software, myCrossflight, will automatically offer to create a shipping invoice for you and will prompt you to enter the necessary information or you can, of course, use your own invoice.

Rules of Origin Requirements

To benefit from the EU-UK Trade Agreement the majority of products being shipped need to have been produced and manufactured in the UK or the EU.

The trade deal only applies to customs duties, meaning that in most cases customs duties will not be applied to goods fulfilling all of the necessary "rules of origin" requirements.

The good's Country of Origin must be calculated and recorded accurately, and it is your responsibility to ensure the correct information is shown.

You can see more information about this here: Rules of origin for goods moving between the UK and EU

VAT Implications & Responsibilities

VAT payment will be the responsibility of the company or person that the consignment is being sent to.

The recipient may be asked to pay for the VAT before the consignment is delivered or they may receive an invoice, for VAT charges and any administration costs, after delivery has been made.

Delivery Duty Paid (DDP)

Should you wish to pay any Duty or VAT charges on behalf of your client you can select the DDP option when creating your AWB on myCrossflight.

Please note that consignments will still have to go through the customs process and, once complete, any Duty, VAT and administration charges will be invoiced back to your account.