Britain’s historical vote to leave the European Union has had a global impact. From stock prices to travel plans, a lot of people have been affected in some shape or form. Some effects have been positive and others negative.
While some have barely felt the change, those engaging in international shipping face significant changes. But what does it mean for your export shipping business to the UK? Yes, it will make your logistics a bit more complicated.
If you ship goods internationally, we understand that this can be complicated and somewhat confusing.
At AMS, we want to help streamline international shipments. To help you keep on top of Brexit’s impact on your business, here are some main points that you need to be aware of.
The UK Government is introducing a new VAT model for cross-border goods that requires all e-commerce merchants that ship to the UK to register for a VAT number by January 1, 2021.
What does this mean?
Sellers are now the responsible party for collecting and remitting VAT for orders under £135/$176. For orders above £135, it is business as usual. (With DDU, the UK consumer is responsible for payment, and with DDP, the shipping company is responsible for the payment.)
All e-commerce merchants must register for a UK VAT number by end of this year in order to ship any packages to UK consumers in a compliant manner, and the UK Government will be issuing late penalties for a late registration.
Please click HERE to read official details from the UK government.
In terms of next steps, you can:
Self-register for a UK VAT via the government website. But unfortunately this process is complicated, error-prone, and can take multiple hours for someone new to this.
Passport-assisted registration: To make life easier for our brands, we teamed up with Passport to provide you a UK VAT registration tool that simplifies the process and makes registering a less frustrating experience. This process has been thoroughly vetted with DLA Piper (Legal Counsel based in the UK) to be in full compliance with HMRC (UK IRS). For the time being, this tool is free to use and we encourage you to register as soon as possible as this change is happening in just a few months. Please click HERE for this UK VAT registration tool.
Who is Passport?
Passport is a modern international shipping carrier that provides logistics services as well as all the software and services required for a successful international program, such as VAT registration and compliance.
JB/ Freight Freak
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About the Freight Freak:
John Bevacqua is the VP of Logistics at AMS Fulfillment. His area of excellence is in creating distribution and fulfillment operations that function as a capable interface between suppliers, retailers, and wholesale distributors. His experience includes developing and leading FedEx/ Kinko’s Distribution Services into the FedEx post acquisition, USA Wireless Technologies, and a top Logistics Management company. He has also worked with third party fulfillment companies, preparing him for his current position with AMS Fulfillment.