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The state of affairs for today, January 20, 2019 can be summed up in the words of Marjorie M. Liu –
“Expect the unexpected, because the unexpected will almost certainly expect you”.
The UK government has still not voted on an exit agreement from the European Union, meaning the terms of the exit are still unknown in most of the areas, including cross-border trade, settlement of transactions, movement of goods, which of course is closely related to selling on Amazon.
If you are wondering whether to start your business on Amazon from the UK right now, we advise a moment of patience until the situation becomes clearer. If you’re already selling on Amazon.co.uk then it remains to be seen how events unfold over the coming months. We are keeping a close eye on this topic and will report back to you on how this ‘divorce’ is going in terms of its impact on sales on Amazon. The deadline for Britain’s exit from the European Union is 29 March 2019.
The UK Government is advising Businesses to prepare for the eventuality of the UK exiting the European Union without signing a deal, or so-called “no deal”. In this case, temporary difficulties can be expected in shipping products to the UK due to the lack of customs procedures or the discretion to interpret it, which will be up to the Member States.
Amazon assures that goods in UK FBA warehouses will be delivered as normal to UK customers, but there may be turbulence in stock transfers within the EFN (European Fulfilment Network). What does this mean? If your goods are in FBA warehouses on the continent and you participate in PAN FBA then it may be initially difficult to move them to UK warehouses. If you store products exclusively in the UK, provide higher inventory for UK customers before 29.03.2019. Amazon recommends shipping to these UK-based centres by 17.03.2019
The UK Government has produced an information pack on the changes that will occur to the trading of goods if the UK leaves the EU without signing a deal, or ‘no deal’. It is worth reading as this scenario is very likely at the moment. Link to government website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/partnership-pack-preparing-for-a-no-deal-eu-exit
Rules of accounting VAT on goods located in the UK will not change as these are internal regulations.
Import duties on goods entering the UK will be introduced from 29.03.2019 at 23.00.
Of course, the negotiation of the agreement and its ratification by the UK Government is still ongoing, in terms of the rules on which the UK will leave the Union. What is certain is that from 29 March 2019 it will no longer be part of the EU, which will involve additional shipping and accounting administration for each retailer.
If you are an active seller in the UK, start production, purchasing to secure stock in the UK before 29.03.2019
It is also worth remembering, reading and referring to the following issues in relation to your business preparing for the “no deal” exit, that is: EORI registration, anti-dumping duties, tariffs and customs declarations, customs procedures (CPC) classification of goods according to the “commodity code”, Import License (for goods with restrictions) and SAD declarations. Some of these issues will be quite simple, some will be helped by electronic systems, carriers, accountants, but selling on amazon.co.uk will never be as easy as it is now.
If you have any additional information, links, interpretations or want to share your questions or conclusions, please write in the comments under the article.
We have included a quick guide to importing into the UK. What you need to know after 29.03.2019
UK import guide
We support knowledge sharing within the Go2Market Community.
Happy UK Selling,
Go2Market Crew
We will talk about your needs, problems, and plans related to sales on Amazon. We will determine if we can help you.
during the conversation:
We will ask a few questions to learn more about your company and products,
We will answer your questions,
Together we will determine the possible next step.
