Post-Brexit wine delivery from EU

For some reason best known to themselves the UK government seem to want companies from the EU to register for VAT in the UK if they sell stuff to customers here, rather than the freight company collecting the VAT & passing it on!
 
No. Not tried yet. Last shipment came through on 29th Dec. I have a note in my diary in June to make a few enquiries. Six months seems a good length of time for things to bed in and settle down a bit. Far too chaotic now to chance things.
 
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I received a single bottle from an auction arrived without a hitch on 7th Jan. I was expecting the courier to contact me for vat, but they didn't. I suspect just luck though.
 
For some reason best known to themselves the UK government seem to want companies from the EU to register for VAT in the UK if they sell stuff to customers here, rather than the freight company collecting the VAT & passing it on!

It's the same in the reverse direction. I interpret it as an attempt to smooth the cross-border flow whilst preventing tax leakage. Personal imports of wine - which would be require customs clearance for excise purposes - are tiny.
 
I received a single bottle from an auction arrived without a hitch on 7th Jan. I was expecting the courier to contact me for vat, but they didn't. I suspect just luck though.
Probably luck, Jonathan. My understanding (tell me if I am wrong) is that any EU vendor has to register for UK VAT. Why bother? Don’t they even have to pay it in advance?
 
I meant to say, although this sounds crazy, that an Austrian producer I was speaking to this week said (paraphrasing) “we can’t send anything to U.K. right now, not even ordinary Mail”. Can’t believe it’s true but she said it (in English).

The book I ordered from Paris on 10 December still hasn’t arrived.
 
A small price to pay for all the wonderful new freedoms and opportunities we now enjoy, Nick. Rejoice!!
I am really surprised that anyone is surprised by all this.
 
What’s the implication for 2019 EP Bordeaux that obviously hasn’t landed yet? Do IB wines circumvent this for now?

It will make no difference if you are buying from a UK merchant.

They will import the wine paying duty and import VAT as they would on wine from anywhere else in the world.
 
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I meant to say, although this sounds crazy, that an Austrian producer I was speaking to this week said (paraphrasing) “we can’t send anything to U.K. right now, not even ordinary Mail”. Can’t believe it’s true but she said it (in English).

Assuming she is talking about supplying a UK merchant rather than selling direct to uk customers, from an import perspective nothing has changed on Australian shipments.

However it maybe that physical movement of the goods is a problem. Lots of airfreight travel in passenger aircraft and reduced flights (Australia has a cap on flights) maybe limiting space.

Similarly sea freight is snarled up at UK ports, and has been for the last few months, so getting unloaded at Felixstowe etc has seen long delays.
 
Indeed, Richard, though their costs will increase hugely.
Being old enough dimly to remember pre EU days but to remember pre single market days vividly it's all quite nostalgic though not necessarily in a way I would have chosen.
 
Indeed, Richard, though their costs will increase hugely.
Being old enough dimly to remember pre EU days but to remember pre single market days vividly it's all quite nostalgic though not necessarily in a way I would have chosen.

Why should cost increase hugely Tom?
The only possible increase in cost is in freight (additional cost of import /export declaration). But this was always the case as wine is liable for excise duty. There is no tariff and the import VAT can be reclaimed through the VAT return.
 
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I may be wrong Tom, and it would be interesting to hear from a UK merchant if that is indeed the case.

I am no fan of Brexit and really would have preferred to stay in the single market but my experience of importing and exporting stuff (not wine) post Brexit has not been the chaos I anticipated. However I know that volumes are greatly reduced due to Covid and indeed this has also impacted freight movement due to testing etc so still may change.
 
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It seems the main people to be hit will be smaller merchants who will need to order larger consignments at the lower cost end (think sub £5 per bottle). I think for us on the forum the difference at the levels we are buying at will be negligible on our wallets when buying in the UK. I mean £100 for 600 bottles for the extra paperwork costs is 16 pence a bottle, hardly something to be worried about. Where there will be a big hit is that smaller merchants in the EU will not ever export to the UK so those hard to get bottles will get a bit harder to get. The bigger EU merchants will set up VAT payment schemes and begin exporting in the next few months (or at least that is what they say they are doing) and prices will still be cheaper than here for the wines.

I can understand people's anxiety but I was actually quite relieved by the article as fine wine buying in the UK will be nominally affected once the shipping settles down (which always takes six months post any changes to border controls).
 
he bigger EU merchants will set up VAT payment schemes and begin exporting in the next few months (or at least that is what they say they are doing) and prices will still be cheaper than here for the wines.
I'd be a bit surprised, but we shall see. There's some interesting though disheartening stuff on the Jancis Robinson site. Certainly by no means the worst disaster that Brexit will bring, however.
 
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