In particular, the rules on VAT have changed since 1 January. Due to Brexit, EU countries and the United Kingdom are no longer seen as one country for VAT purposes, and entrepreneurs are no longer allowed to simply charge Dutch VAT up to a certain amount.
For deliveries under £ 135, European web shops now have to collect VAT for the UK tax authorities. They need a UK VAT number for this.
Haas has applied for such a British VAT number, but has not yet received it. They are not alone, says correspondent Tim de Wit in London: “The British tax authorities are terribly behind in providing VAT information.”
And there are more obstacles for Haas. “Suppose we do get a VAT number, it is still unclear how difficult it is, because we have no idea how to reclaim the taxes: what kind of system they have, how complicated it is, whether there are costs involved. . ” Shipping costs are also higher and delivery times may be longer.
Clumsy and not customer-friendly
Willem Bontrup from the Visdeal webshop has received the VAT number. He sells fishing equipment and continues to deliver to the UK despite the extra paperwork. “We achieve approximately one quarter of our turnover in the United Kingdom, which is an important country for us.”
The company has been fully immersed in the last weeks of 2020. “We had to add codes and the country of origin to 25,000 products. It took us a lot of hours.”
The first parcels sent under the new rules, Bontrup followed closely. “I kept track of how the shipment was going through track and trace. I woke up at half past four in the morning and looked again at how things were going, but it was all going. There were few delays.”
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