Changes to EU 's e-commerce regulations begin

Major changes to the EU Value Added Tax (VAT) will officially take effect from today, impacting all businesses selling goods to EU located customers.

The change is a product of the UK 's exit from the European Union (EU), meaning that any items imported to the EU with a value of 22 euros of less will no longer be exempt from VAT charges.

This goes for all goods sent directly from Great Britain to consumers in the EU, both via online marketplaces and direct sales, which will be subject to the local rate of VAT in the customer 's country.

Those companies who don 't act will receive Delivery Duties Unpaid (DDU) on any undeliverable items and customers may have to pay import VAT and a handling fee in the receiving country.

Royal Mail has implemented several options to help businesses manage these changes, dependent on the size and nature of the company.

One of these options is encouraging businesses to register for the EU 's Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) registration scheme.

IOSS is an assisted solution available from 1 July which, once registered, will help businesses calculate and collect VAT from customers upon checkout and pay it directly to the EU.

This will help avoid any unexpected charges and delivery delays to customers.

Andrew Hipgrave (pictured), ITA Sector Specialist at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) said: “Today is the start of the new compliance rules for online goods under the value of 150 Euros. Any sellers sending goods in this way will need to register for IOSS and have a EU intermediary.

“In order to minimise disruption to your European customers contact, remember to contact the GBCC for help with your specific needs. It 's possible we can have you ready for fully compliant sales within a week. ”

Chamber members are encouraged to get in contact with their relationship managers for more information on how IOSS can help them.

Alternatively, you can contact: [email protected]