Brexit Statement
wnDirect have been continuing to prepare for the possibility of a ‘No-Deal Brexit’,
What are wnDirect doing to prepare?
Currently our team is working towards a worst-case scenario of a No-Deal situation. This means ensuring the following: -
- Our operation and networks are ready to cope with a Customs border between the UK and EU
- Our retailers can provide all the information and data required for either Postal or Commercial Customs clearance into the EU
- Our IT systems are prepared to collect the necessary Duties & Taxes required when importing into the EU
We are working with a number of experienced partners in both the United Kingdom and the European Union to provide you with the confidence that your parcels will continue to flow through our network as smoothly as possible.
A Robust Parcel Network
We will be injecting parcels into the EU through multiple gateways to provide regional Customs clearance capability. In addition, we will have different vehicle routing options in place into Europe in the event that significant delays are encountered at some of the ports.
Correct Data procedures
To ensure parcels flow through Customs, we are advising our retailers that we need full parcel-level and recipient information, in order to comply with Customs requirements to export out of origin country and import into the EU or vice versa. This includes:
- Check if goods you sell require an export license
- Product classification codes (also referred to as HS or HTS codes) – we can provide help with this if you are unsure
- Description of the goods
- Cost of goods
- A valid address
- European mobile number
Offering a choice of clearance options
We can provide a range of options for payment of Duties and Taxes incurred on import, ranging from:
- Shipper paid / Retailer paid – where we pick up the bill for parcels when they clear Customs and then we charge this back to retailers
- Consumer paid – this is where the recipient of the parcel pays for any Duties and Taxes incurred on import. There are two ways of doing this and this varies by service and the partner we use for clearance in the destination
o For some lanes we hold the parcels in the UK and ask the consumer to pay before we ship the parcel forward
o For other lanes (and the majority of postal flows) the parcels are shipped and then the partner collects the money directly from the
consumer - Hybrid (part shipper / part consumer paid) – this is where we pick up the bill for all VAT incurred (where the parcel value is below 150EUR) and charge this back to retailers. Where the parcel value is above 150EUR we will hold it in the UK and request payment from the consumer
Changes to Services
As you may have seen in the news, delays are anticipated at the border between the UK and the EU; by having a tested process and different routes we are trying to minimise delays. But there may be some changes to transit times outside of our control depending on the final political situation at the end of October.
