Big change in Customs charges from 01.01.21 - are RM trying to keep these quiet?

[peterrum]

Hi everybody -

From what I can see, there is going to be a big change on the way Customs charges are calculated on incoming international parcels and packets from the 1st Jan 2021. If the value of the goods is under £135, there won't be any import VAT or customs duty for the addressee to pay. So there will be no more hold-up of the delivery with a 'Something to pay' card and no more £8 'handling fees' for Royal Mail on these packages < £135 in value.

I am basing this on what is in the HMRC document at - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-ove ... nuary-2021

The new rules put the collection of VAT from 'on import' (i.e. the responsibility of the person to whom the parcel is packet is addressed) to the seller. Somebody in China say selling an item online to somebody in the UK has to now charge VAT to the UK customer in their checkout and then hand the VAT over to HMRC through normal VAT procedures. And there is no import duty to pay on anything under £135 in value.

BUT there is no mention of these new rules on the Royal Mail website (unless I have been unable to find them) - all there seems to be is a statement of the current position here:- https://www.royalmail.com/sites/default ... n-2017.pdf

but this will be inaccurate from 1st January 2021. i.e. in a few days time.

This seems to be the biggest shakeup of Customs arrangements for parcels and packets coming in from abroard for years, as it means somebody in the UK can buy goods from foreign websites and get them delivered without any hindrance, so long as they are under £135 in value.  

Do you think it is because Royal Mail will as a consequence be able to collect far fewer £8 'handling fees' on each parcel or packet that they are keeping quiet about it?

[2yearpostie]

we dont make any money from customs stuff it all goes to the treasury as i understand.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

we dont make any money from customs stuff it all goes to the treasury as i understand.

They do make an £8 admin charge to cover costs.

As to the original poster, as most of us are Royal Mail employees it would be ill advised for us to comment on the reasons behind why they haven't yet decided to publish the changes yet.

To reiterate, there is a clause in our contracts, as with most employers, about the consequences of bringing the Company into disrepute, and its not a stretch to say agreeing with your opinion on a public site may fall under this clause.

However, a brief look at the details, it seems that the change is mainly at the Customs side, and Royal Mail processes won't change. Customs decide if a charge is to be levied, not Royal Mail, so I don't think they need to change their processes or fees from what they are now. All they need to do is change the web page and advice, and that's probably already to go on the 1st of Jan.