BUZZING CONTENT
Beans, Marmite and Tea What has Brexit meant to those who import foods from the UK, what obstacles have they needed to overcome, and what’s the way forward? David Bennion and the team at The Trading Post have spent four years planning for this eventuality and tells of us their struggles and successes. apparent that all that time had been wasted and, although the deal was ‘tariff free’, the complexity and amount of required paperwork was going to come at significant cost. Out of 40-50 UK suppliers, only one was able to supply the correct information now needed for export straight away! This has improved but it’s been a very steep and expensive learning curve.
HOW HAS BREXIT IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS? It’s been very challenging! Since the initial vote there has been a lot of preparation, research, and systems put into place with UK supply partners and product manufacturers. On 1 January 2021 it soon became
WHAT ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL COSTS FOR DELIVERIES OF UK GOODS? These additional costs arise in four ways: • Vets fees for products of animal origin • France and UK customs clearance fees By buying in bulk we can absorb both of the above costs across 1000’s of products meaning minimal impact to the customer.
The Local Buzz • May - June 2021
“Marmite seems to be more loved than hated” • French TVA (now payable at port of entry) As a registered French business we pay TVA anyway - it’s just that we now pay as goods arrive in the country. For UK companies posting to France, however, their customers now pay on delivery OR the UK company pays it in advance, increasing the product price to absorb the tax. Therefore, for postal deliveries from the UK, they are now paying UK VAT and French TVA as well as customs clearance fees.
51
