Importing materials from Europe

[JulesFormosa]

Hello all and apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, happy to be pointed in the right forum direction.

 

So the price of the brick I want has just jumped up 10% and considering it was already ridiculously high, this is a bitter pill to swallow.  Our Interior Designers are based in Lithuania and their prices for the exact same product are a fair bit cheaper. With all the Brexit rules coming into force, is it still possible to bring in a lorry full from there?

[ToughButterCup]

Hello @Jules : 10% + , cheaper elsewhere : common story.  I'd love to import some German stuff ; but 

https://www.avalara.com/vatlive/en/vat-news/brexit-import-goods-into-gb-from-eu--customs---vat.html

 

 

 

[JulesFormosa]

Urrrgh headache before I even finish reading. Import VAT is reclaimable though

[ToughButterCup]

Thats the one: headaches all round.

[JulesFormosa]

But what if the company says they can organise it all... to trust or not to trust?

[ToughButterCup]

  On 23/02/2022 at 16:29, JulesFormosa said:

But what if the company says they can organise it all... to trust or not to trust?

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Does your cousin 55 times removed work for the company? If so ..... don't.

 

[Bramco]

  On 23/02/2022 at 16:29, JulesFormosa said:

But what if the company says they can organise it all... to trust or not to trust?

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If they agree a fixed price then OK.  But I'd still ask for the shipping etc. cost breakdown and check it.

 

We've bought sanitary ware, taps etc. from Reuter in Germany in the past. MUCH cheaper even when we were in the EU.  But of course they no longer ship here.  We were planning to have all the stuff for the new house sent to our son in Holland and pick it up when we're across there in a month or so. But we've chickened out....   don't fancy the hassle of a customs strip search.   However the taps we wanted won't be in stock in the UK until late May which would be too late, so we have ordered the taps from Reuter for delivery in Holland. This will be below the £350 each of goods you are allowed to bring in as a traveller on the Eurostar.   Think we'll still hide them though....

 

Simon

[markc]

Big stuff we send a truck over, small items we get UPS (booked in UK) to collect the items.

as long as there are 6 copies of the delivery note attached there is no problem … and everything arrives with 5 copies still on the package so no idea why EU are demanding 6.

yes you pay the VAT over here but you don’t pay local tax so cost is pretty much the same.

[saveasteading]

  On 23/02/2022 at 16:49, markc said:

everything arrives with 5 copies still on the package so no idea why EU are demanding 6.

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That was always the case. We had 22t deliveries of steel, regularly, and needed 2 copies to reach us (us and bank). Sometimes the driver would have ours and 2 or 3 spares simply because they had not been asked for along the way. Other times he had only one left because they got taken at each side of the channel, by ferry and by customs.

I would think that the ferry operator and UK customs would take one each every time.

 

Make sure it starts the journey with all 6 or you may run out on the wrong side of the channel.

 

Beware of unofficial 'arrangements' across borders. We tried to get holoriib type shuttering from France as it was 1/3 cheaper....until someone told them it was for UK and suddenly they couldn't do it any more. In other words be sure you don't turn up with a lorry and find that there aren't any bricks after all, especially with a major manufacturer who can control the market.

 

Have you tried a brick factor? They will take a commission but may remove the risk, or have an alternative supplier.