We certainly have not. It's still the case of the courier company knocks on the door,
demands money for the parcel and then provides absolutely no paperwork.
What is really killing small order trade between the UK and the EU are the handling fees made by the couriers. These can be far higher than the tariffs. For example the big name couriers are now charging on average a £4.50 border fee to the exporter. Then anything from £8 to £12 to the importer. They are charging both parties for the same parcel.
For a small importer such as my company (less than 100k GBP annually from EU) then
the deferment and CDS routes are probably not worth the hassle. Also because we import
from several EU suppliers, who use a variety of couriers, then you will not always be able to
get each supplier/courier to use deferment or CDS. Probably much easier to just pay the
courier and wait for the C79. We did have our first delivery this week. A small order of
200 GBP value from Holland. UPS knocked on the door and demanded £89. Payment by cash or cheque only and no paperwork to say what the charge was for. Guess they charged us VAT. We do have an EORI number and did give it to the exporter, but looks like UPS were not impressed by that.
My answers
Has anyone actually received a C79 yet ?
We certainly have not. It's still the case of the courier company knocks on the door,
demands money for the parcel and then provides absolutely no paperwork.
What is really killing small order trade between the UK and the EU are the handling fees made by the couriers. These can be far higher than the tariffs. For example the big name couriers are now charging on average a £4.50 border fee to the exporter. Then anything from £8 to £12 to the importer. They are charging both parties for the same parcel.
For a small importer such as my company (less than 100k GBP annually from EU) then
the deferment and CDS routes are probably not worth the hassle. Also because we import
from several EU suppliers, who use a variety of couriers, then you will not always be able to
get each supplier/courier to use deferment or CDS. Probably much easier to just pay the
courier and wait for the C79. We did have our first delivery this week. A small order of
200 GBP value from Holland. UPS knocked on the door and demanded £89. Payment by cash or cheque only and no paperwork to say what the charge was for. Guess they charged us VAT. We do have an EORI number and did give it to the exporter, but looks like UPS were not impressed by that.