I have just learned that, from tomorrow 1 July, the EU are planning to introduce duty payments on all goods imported into the European Union countries.
Currently we send all SOTA shop purchases as “Gifts” so different rules apply - Purchases less than €45 (about £37) are exempt while purchases between €45 and €150 might attract a duty payment. I usually declare the “Cost Price” of SOTA items rather than the added value of engraving and postage so trophies fall below the limit.
Any shipment that exceeds the lower limit will be sent DDU (Delivery Duty Unpaid) so the recipient may find they have duties to pay. I will advise any purchaser that they may experience a delay while they are asked for duty payment.
Some EU countries have been applying a duty rule for some time which has caused delays and return of packages - please try to avoid this happening!
Just to clarify, this is kicking in EU-wide from midnight tomorrow. €3 slapped on to every unique item, even zero VAT goods e.g. books.
Be careful as well (recipients of goods in the EU) as additional charges may apply from your carrier e.g. An Post are slapping an additional €7 ‘fee’ on top of the €10 fee they charge for non-EU parcels already.
It’s pretty much a waste of time ordering a variety of items from outside of the EU now, which I assume was the point of this exercise but it is said to be an attempt to reduce Temu landfill and the likes.
Also, it doesn’t matter if you order something tonight or last week. If it arrives in the EU after midnight tomorrow where you live, you’ll be charged a hape of fees.
It is basically scrapping Deminimis. It was so well marketed nobody had heard it was happening until it appeared in the news today.