Brexit is knocking on the door, and Great Britain hasn't reached a trade agreement with the EU. Negotiations and uncertainty regarding package deliveries continue.
EDIT: Feb 25. Significant delays in Standard and Economy services. France has closed the Eurotunnel, which currently prevents all road transport to Britain. However, Express deliveries are operating normally. Through Shipit, deliveries to Great Britain are still possible via UPS Express, UPS Express Saver, Shipit Express, and FedEx International Priority services.
Brexit's Impact and Uncertainties
Shipit will change Great Britain to a non-EU area on Dec 29.
EORI number is mandatory for companies when sending to Great Britain, and the recipient's EORI number is also required if the recipient is a company.
All shipments to Great Britain will require a commercial/proforma invoice or CN23 document
Shipments valued under 15 pounds will be delivered tax-free (couriers may need to collect VAT later)
Shipments valued over 135 pounds will be handled according to normal non-EU trade procedures
GLS will initially not accept commercial B2C shipments valued between 15 - 135 pounds if the company does not have VAT registration in Britain
Private to private (C2C) shipments will operate normally according to non-EU shipping rules. Proforma or commercial invoice will be mandatory for these going forward. For postal services, a CN23 document will be created, which Shipit generates automatically based on shipment information
Business to business (B2B) shipments will require both sender's and recipient's EORI number on the commercial/proforma invoice. Check if the EORI number is valid here >
Uncertain: British VAT registration requirement. Currently, most online stores aren't prepared for this, and the British border might not handle such a factor. HMRC's VAT registration requirement will require that shipments valued between 15 - 135 pounds be VAT-rated according to British VAT rates at the online store checkout. VAT registration will likely be required for companies selling online to private individuals in Britain. Without a British VAT number, B2C shipments can only be created using UPS and Shipit services.
Product descriptions must be detailed going forward, e.g., "t-shirt" is not sufficient, but requires a more detailed description like "men's 100 % cotton t-shirt"
For B2B, private-to-private, and proforma shipments (gifts, samples, etc.), there will be no other changes except that Britain becomes a normal non-EU country.
We recommend all companies to obtain an EORI number, which is required when dealing with customs authorities in the EU area.
Familiarize yourself with Incoterms