Brexit

[fido]

My question is mainly for those like myself, living in EU countries but needing to order parts from UK. I'm just wondering how it works now with regard to Customs etc? I mainly need gaskets and piston rings for my longstroke A7 and could have ordered them earlier but can't find my vernier to determine the piston oversize. The pistons are genuine BSA but I can't believe it is still on standard after 73 years.

[KiwiGF]

My question is mainly for those like myself, living in EU countries but needing to order parts from UK. I'm just wondering how it works now with regard to Customs etc? I mainly need gaskets and piston rings for my longstroke A7 and could have ordered them earlier but can't find my vernier to determine the piston oversize. The pistons are genuine BSA but I can't believe it is still on standard after 73 years.

If the barrel is sleeved it is likely to be on std piston size?

[groily]

Supply has been difficult fido.
As far as I can see - all just from my own experience please note! - lowish value parcels sent over by Royal Mail seem to get over OK (all parcels have to have a value declared before sending, and shown on the customs sticker which is obligatory at the UK end).
Parcels through UPS and DHL etc have been subject to horrible delays, which may or may not still apply. Their hubs were backed up with weeks' worth of stuff, and a fair amount got lost. Wassell, the big trade dealer, suspended all deliveries to the EU from the UK for a while, and I believe there are still some countries to which they won't send.
As to costs, you'll be liable to VAT at your local rate, as VAT isn't charged in the UK by traders sending into 'third countries'. And there will often be an administrative charge for handling, and on some things possibly customs duties as well but I don't know quite how that works.
The net of it is that costs have risen by as much as 50% on a whole lot of orders.
I think the threshhold at which the local Customs people get interested is about 140€ worth of declared value, but I bet that 'all depends' and I may have that wrong anyway.
The very few things I've received in France since January have been low value, Royal Mail-ed from UK, and have arrived quickly and without additional charges or VAT being demanded. But I expect it varies from EU country to EU country, and I wouldn't ever like to try to guess what a bureaucrat will do in any given situation.
But one thing is for sure - it's got a whole lot harder. More expensive, more complicated and in many cases slower.
I'm holding back on ordering anything expensive for the moment - and making do with the toys I've got the way they are.
Of course, Britih Only in Austria is there - although costs of goods inwards to them from the UK will have gone up, and there's De Groot in the Netherlands. Quite a lot can be had that way  . . .  and it may actually be easier to order through them, and let them worry about the paperwork!

[RichardL]

Fido breaches!   

[KiwiGF]

Supply has been difficult fido.
As far as I can see - all just from my own experience please note! - lowish value parcels sent over by Royal Mail seem to get over OK (all parcels have to have a value declared before sending, and shown on the customs sticker which is obligatory at the UK end).
Parcels through UPS and DHL etc have been subject to horrible delays, which may or may not still apply. Their hubs were backed up with weeks' worth of stuff, and a fair amount got lost. Wassell, the big trade dealer, suspended all deliveries to the EU from the UK for a while, and I believe there are still some countries to which they won't send.
As to costs, you'll be liable to VAT at your local rate, as VAT isn't charged in the UK by traders sending into 'third countries'. And there will often be an administrative charge for handling, and on some things possibly customs duties as well but I don't know quite how that works.
The net of it is that costs have risen by as much as 50% on a whole lot of orders.
I think the threshhold at which the local Customs people get interested is about 140€ worth of declared value, but I bet that 'all depends' and I may have that wrong anyway.
The very few things I've received in France since January have been low value, Royal Mail-ed from UK, and have arrived quickly and without additional charges or VAT being demanded. But I expect it varies from EU country to EU country, and I wouldn't ever like to try to guess what a bureaucrat will do in any given situation.
But one thing is for sure - it's got a whole lot harder. More expensive, more complicated and in many cases slower.
I'm holding back on ordering anything expensive for the moment - and making do with the toys I've got the way they are.
Of course, Britih Only in Austria is there - although costs of goods inwards to them from the UK will have gone up, and there's De Groot in the Netherlands. Quite a lot can be had that way  . . .  and it may actually be easier to order through them, and let them worry about the paperwork!

Welcome to the NZ world, we have been living with UK imports being subject to (extortionate) NZ govt custom admin charges and local gst (aka VAT) for years, albeit things improved when the value limit for having to pay gst increased from $400 (nzd) to $1000 a year or so ago, when the govt went after gst from Amazon et al, and the custom admin charge was thankfully discontinued at the same time.

At least most UK suppliers don’t charge VAT when the destination is NZ, which is the standard for exports to non EU countries. Some cheeky suppliers do not knock off the VAT when exporting to NZ, this is particularly a problem with buying from ebay.

I guess each EU country will have rules on when UK imports are subject to VAT and any admin charges that apply, in an ideal world it would be published info, but covid shipping delays etc are probably still a “wild card”, even within the EU.

[fido]

You might find the Ebay suppliers are not VAT registered and are therefore not charging VAT. When I had a business in UK I was not VAT registered as my turnover was below the government threshold. This meant I paid VAT on parts I bought in but there was a good profit margin on most parts anyway.

[Oldtoys]

My experience with my restoration started this year is mainly increase of shipping cost and additional administrative custom charge. The lowest I paid per parcel is 8€ the highest is 20€, not really related to the invoice but just a fix charge to treatment of your VAT invoice. Fedex, DHL are the most expensive. I have exceed 100€ along my orders just for this ridiculous charge
VAT you are liable where ever you live. Then the difficulty is to have the biggest basket at one place to balance this fix charge, plus of course shipping cost.
In real life, the guy who makes tyres, wheels, oil pump, exhausts, is not the shop you can collect the most diverse items, so comes the game to get the most from a limited list of suppliers, sometimes even if same item is lower price at another seller, I buy to the one supplying my full list in one shot.

[RDfella]

"VAT you are liable where ever you live."
Not so. If the supplying firm is large enough to deal in VAT it should deduct it for export. I try to avoid those that don't. You then pay sales tax (if applicable) when the goods arrive in your own country.  For example, Guernsey has no VAT or GST and is not liable to UK VAT so any import should be VAT free.

[Oldtoys]

"VAT you are liable where ever you live."
Not so. If the supplying firm is large enough to deal in VAT it should deduct it for export. I try to avoid those that don't. You then pay sales tax (if applicable) when the goods arrive in your own country.  For example, Guernsey has no VAT or GST and is not liable to UK VAT so any import should be VAT free.

Well I meant after Brexit that paying 20% VAT at source so UK or paying 20% VAT in FR does not change the bill at my end. Of course the source have to display and invoice price without VAT,  French custom will not go into details and charge me prior to my parcel delivery + f****g administrative charge. This means that shipping operators becomes VAT collector for state, and close to double the shipping price for this taxe "mission" 
A usual parcel to FR @£22  becomes a €50 transaction.

[Rex]

This sort of nonsense will carry on until business gets together with the EU (and to a lesser degree, UK) and demands that all unnecessary impediments to cross border trade and commerce are to be removed, and trade then  be enacted in a sense of goodwill and co-operation, rather than the childish current state "we'll teach them a lesson for daring to leave the EU project" bollix.
Big Business will always win in the end, regardless of the origin of the ham in a lorry driver's sandwich.

[Oldtoys]

all unnecessary impediments to cross border trade and commerce are to be removed, and trade then  be enacted in a sense of goodwill and co-operation, rather than the childish current state "we'll teach them a lesson for daring to leave the EU project" bollix.

There is no abuse from EU, treatment is exactly the same than trading in EU with US, Switzerland or Asia, and now UK. This the downside clearly part of the Brexit vote, in or leave. Hopping you can gain upside that I can't judge and that I am not legitim to consider.
My bits and pcs trade is negigeable compared to the economy in general but from Pierre's window, it is my 2 cents impact, I mean 200€ paper work and days/weeks delays.

[Swarfcut]

    I was gobsmacked to see the UK is cutting its overseas aid to China. WTF is that all about? And how come China enjoys a certainly one sided benefit when it come to shipping stuff halfway round the world to cross a UK or EU  border? No wonder UK suppliers are facing uncertainty for their EU markets.

 Swarfy

 

 

[groily]

Well, all impediments aren't going to be removed, because the UK isn't in the single market.
However, trade with most non-EU countries isn't that hard, the US and Japan come to mind for me. But there WILL be customs charges on some things, and on imports from the UK  there will be VAT to pay if it would have been payable in the UK but wasn't charged.
I think it will settle down when everyone has grasped the new rules, transitional, permanent, whatever.
There will be cases where goods from non-VAT registered businesse probably get hammered for it sometimes, and the same probably applies for goods coming from the EU into the UK.
The EU doesn't have a monopoly on functionaries and bureaucrats! Having lived on three continents in a variety of countries apart from this one, I've become well-used to the fact that there is likely to be paperwork, and cost.
I think the importance of the main trade resellers in EU countries may increase, as they'll be geared to do the hard graft, and we won't have to. But as all are agreed, stuff just got more expensive, however ordered.

Whether one puts up with it happily or unhappily depends on one's view of the sanctity of the nation state and what kind of fudge one prefers - collective or individual. Not having been blessed with a vote in any of this as an ex-pat whose rights were truncated many years ago, I'm just going with the flow, no other choice.

[Rex]

Well, all impediments aren't going to be removed, because the UK isn't in the single market.

Petty and unnecessary impediments, Groily. The EU bureacracy will only be able to play the a*se for so long before the penny drops that trade is being unnecessarily affected.

[groily]

Yup, I agree Rex. Is why I said I think it'll settle down. It has to, for the sake of everyone.

The BBS (Brussels' Big Sulk) will wear off I hope, especially when continental Europe catches up on the covid vax front, which has created more unnecessary friction as the EU seems to think it's a competition and tries to excuse its initial errors in procurement and roll-out.
I'm no defender of the EU (just happen to like many of the individual countries, a lot), I voted against staying in it back in 1975 even (had a vote back then!) and made myself very unpopular with a lot of my go-ahead mates. I thought President de Gaulle had it about right then, and still do come to that.

But things are what they are and we have to work through it. It shouldn't be that hard, as all countries trade happily with folk not in their 'bloc' every day - but this thing is as much about psychology and resistance to change as it is about reality. (Not forgetting the fact that the UK was the #2 contributor to the EU budget - and in present circs money will be in very short supply as fragile economies struggle to cope with the last 2 disastrous years.)