CUSTOMS, TAX, VAT… EVERYTHING YOU KNOW TO BUY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AFTER BREXIT

Here is the essential information to know on this subject:

Clothing made in the UK is exempt from import customs duties.

The origin of the raw material is not taken into account.

The converse is therefore:

Clothing that is not made in the UK is subject to customs duties.

/!\ IMPORTANT SUBTILITIES

1. Orders worth less than €150 (approximately £135) are not subject to customs duties.

And this, whatever the country in which your garment is made.

We are talking about the value of the product(s) alone, shipping costs excluded.

If you order several items of clothing and the total exceeds €150, this rule no longer holds.

2. Northern Ireland is not affected by Brexit

The United Kingdom is a country made up of four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Customs restrictions do not affect Northern Ireland, which remains under European Union rule.

I had difficulty finding a very explicit source, here is the clearest document I have seen . Point number 17:

We are talking here about a fee collected by the carrier of the package (UPS, DHL, Chronopost, etc.) to carry out customs clearance operations for the package.

It is to be distinguished from customs duty , which is a tax on goods that falls to the States.

Its amount is variable and determined by the carrier.

It can apply to any parcel coming from the United Kingdom.

On a purchase from the United Kingdom, you may not have to pay customs duty but still have to pay the carrier's handling fees.

Note: we also sometimes speak of “customs fees”. In this case, it is easy to confuse customs fees and customs duty. Saying “processing fees” is clearer to make the distinction.

French VAT (20% on textiles) is payable on any product you import from the United Kingdom to France.

This VAT can be paid upstream on the merchant site, which therefore indicates its prices including VAT (all taxes included).

This VAT can also be requested downstream, upon receipt of the package, if the site has not invoiced you for VAT upon purchase. In this case, the price is excluding tax (tax excluded).

You must therefore carefully check before your purchase whether the price you are paying is inclusive of VAT or excluding VAT.

If you are traveling physically between France and the United Kingdom, here is some good information to know:

This therefore means that if the value of the goods transported is higher than the value set, you may be charged customs duties in the event of an inspection.

“ HOW MUCH WILL I PAY TOTAL FOR MY PURCHASE? ”

The million-dollar question.

And the answer is... it depends.

It depends on the carrier's handling fees, it depends on whether your package is checked (or not) at customs, etc.

However, to give you some answer, I invite you to use → this tool ← to simulate the calculation of customs fees. It is made available by the General Directorate of Customs and applies to shoes. We can also extend its relevance to clothing.

The data indicated is approximate but this tool still gives you an idea of ​​the costs that could apply to your order.

SOLUTIONS TO NOT PAY ADDITIONAL FEES

Some brands or merchant sites have found ways to facilitate transactions with customers in France and the European Union.

Two configurations stand out:

Some sites send orders to the EU from a warehouse in the EU

This avoids all Brexit-related costs.

This is particularly what The Rake or Wikipedia chose to do: customs duty