An Post Seeks EU Charge Delay
An Post chief executive David McRedmond has joined 19 other postal groups in Europe in calling for a six-month delay to the introduction of a €3 charge on small parcels from online purchases originating from outside the European Union, reports Irish Times.
“In a letter dated May 29th to European commissioner Maros Sefcovic, the chief executives said the July 1st deadline for the changes to the customs regime would have a “severe impact” on SMEs, consumers, postal traffic and the “broader ecosystem of cross-border ecommerce”.
“The final legal text will be available only four weeks before the due date of 1st of July, making it impossible for businesses, merchants and operators to be fully compliant,” the letter states.
“We therefore request that its implementation be delayed by at least six months to allow sufficient preparation time for all stakeholders.”
Currently, there is no customs duty on ecommerce packages entering the EU where the goods are valued at €150 or less. From July 1st, a duty of €3 for each item in a parcel will apply to goods bought online from non-EU countries, including the UK.
While the postal chiefs said “significant progress” had been made on developing a system for the payment of the duty, the transition “depends heavily” on the readiness of non-EU postal operators, ecommerce platforms and SMEs.”
