Brexit and customs: unexpected costs for many Internet users

With Brexit, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union on January 31, 2020. This is apparently not without consequences for consumers. The proof, hundreds of them having ordered on shops based in England such as Boohoo, Pretty Little Things Beauty Bay and even Amazon had the unpleasant surprise of having to pay additional costs.

But what are these costs? Are there any conditions for not paying? Can we be reimbursed?

The many testimonials on Twitter or even TikTok mention customs fees or customs duties that they would have had to pay upon receipt of their packages, without having been notified in advance. “113 euros customs fees on END. Disgusted, I hesitate to accept the package,” says @Estelloue. “Hello UPS! Is it normal that one of your deliverers showed up at my house today with an item I ordered on Amazon from London and told me that I had to pay customs fees in cash?” wonders Margot on twitter. But in the vast majority of cases, these are not customs duties but customs charges.

How not to pay customs fees or duties on a UK order?

"The agreement concluded on December 24 between the UK and the EU makes it possible to benefit from an exemption from customs duties, subject to respecting several conditions [...]", says the Directorate General for indirect customs and duties. But what are these conditions?

If you order a product on a British site that is not of English origin and the value of your order does not exceed 150 euros, then you are exempt from customs duties. If the value of your order exceeds 150 euros, you can potentially pay.

On the other hand, if the product ordered is of English origin, you are exempt from customs duties, whatever the amount, thanks to the agreement between the UK and the EU.

Agreement between UPS and customs services

Despite our emails, no carrier has yet responded. Nevertheless, it is better to avoid express mode or carriers such as UPS or DHL. They are fast thanks to their agreements with the customs services, which induces that the customs charges on these parcels are almost automatic. The slowness will definitely be more economical.

An observation that we had already seen on purchases made in China. From Asia, the slow but free delivery is most often the one that manages to slip through the cracks.