VAT rules have changed especially from 1 January. As a result of Brexit, European Union countries and the United Kingdom are no longer seen as a country for VAT, and entrepreneurs are no longer allowed to charge Dutch VAT up to a certain amount.

For delivery under £ 135, European web shops will now have to collect VAT for UK tax authorities. They need a UK VAT number for this.

Haas has applied for such a British VAT number, but has not yet received it. “They are not alone:” says correspondent Tim De Witt in London: “The British tax authorities are far behind in reporting VAT. “

And there are more obstacles for Haas. “Suppose we get a VAT number, it is still unclear how difficult it is, because we have no idea how to retrieve taxes: what kind of system they have, how complicated it is, Are there costs involved. ” Shipping costs are also high and delivery time may be longer.

Not clumsy and customer friendly

Willem Bontrup received a VAT number from Wisdale webshop. He sells fishing tackle and continues to arrive in the UK despite additional paperwork. “We get about a quarter of our business in the United Kingdom, which is an important country for us.”

The company has completely sunk in the last weeks of 2020. “We had to link the code and the country of origin to 25,000 products. It took us several hours.”

Bontrup followed closely, the first parcel shipped under the new rules. “I tracked down how the shipment was going through the track and trace. I woke up at four and a half in the morning and saw again how things were going, but it was all going on.