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Important Update: Orders to the EU Customs Union

Information updated: 24/03/2021

The end of the Brexit transitional period on 31/12/2020 has been disruptive to trade between Europe and the U.K. Like many businesses we have been affected. We’re sorry for the impact this has on our customers. We’re working on better solutions but this is our current position:

we are Accepting orders from the European UNION CUSTOMS Union. however, please be aware of the following:

  1. You should be charged Import VAT at customs in the destination country.
  2. There may be an additional customs handling fee. This is normally small but may be up to €32 (in Belgium, for orders over €150).
  3. You may be charged further import duties (for example €10.70 in Belgium on an order worth €270).
  4. If your order includes SRAM components, you may be charged a 4.7% tariff on those parts.
  5. Your order may be delayed at customs in the destination country. This delay varies with country.
  6. Currently the longest delays seem to be for orders shipped to Germany via Royal Mail. These can be up to 4 weeks. If you want your parcel quicker we advise using the DHL Express shipping option.

If You have placed an order from Europe and would like to discuss it with us, please email [email protected]

Details of our response to the situation and our current position.

  • Since the end of the Brexit transitional period on 31/12/2020, shipping from the UK to the European Union Customs Union (EUCU) has become an uncertain process.
  • We have continued shipping to to Europe. We want to minimise the effect of our government’s decisions on European riders and currently we’ve got no other means of providing kits to you in Europe.
  • It’s clear that some of our customers were experiencing delays whilst their order cleared customs.
  • The biggest delays we’ve seen are to Germany where some parcels have taken 4 weeks to clear customs if the courier is Royal Mail. We advise you to use DHL Express if you’re in Germany and want your order promptly.
  • Some countries are now charging a customs handling fee. This is normally a small amount but can be significant. For example in Belgium it is €25.
  • We’d like to know about the experiences of more of our European customers since the end of the Brexit transitional period. If you’ve been affected please fill out this survey or email us at [email protected].

8 thoughts on “Important Update: orders to the EU Customs Union”

  1. Janis

    Hi

    Why is VAT added in the end price if shipped outside the UK to Switzerland? E.g. when I order online from Germany VAT will not be charged, since it’s shipped abroad. Isn’t it the same for the UK?

    Thanks for the help
    Janis

    1. tomsimpson

      Hi Janis. The VAT should be removed from the total in the basket when you enter your full address in Switzerland. Is this not happening at the moment?

  3. Johannes

    Hello guys,

    do you have plans to introduce the IOSS VAT reporting for us in the European Union? As far as I know this eliminates the additional handling fees for goods under 150€ for us and speeds up the customs process.

    Thanks for a quick feedback!

    Cheers

    Johannes

    1. tomsimpson

      Hi Johannes. This is definitely something we’ll check out. We’re glad that our European customers have stuck with us through Brexit but we appreciate that it’s making life harder for everyone involved, so we’ll do what we can to help. It’s on the to-do list. Best, Tom

  5. Adriaan Rosseel

    To give an insight in extra costs for shipping to Belgium: I bought the 1×12 Wide upgrade kit (forward exit) and was charged an extra €36,40 (€15 for custums handling and €21,40 VAT).

  6. Karl

    Delivery is not the issue. Went quit fast from England to Belgium. However, 44 € customs charges is quit a lot. Not the fault of Ratiotechnologie, but it won’t help them to sell there goods in the EU zone.

    Lets hope the result will be worth it!. I’ll keep you up to date.

    Karl

  7. Pierre Rehlinger

    Hi guys,

    Just want to give an ipdate on my order. It was siper fat to get delivered to France. I ordered 2 12 speed kits on Feb 6th. Received shipping notification on Feb 8th, and the parcel landed in front of my door step on feb 12th.

    So no worries at all to ship in France. At least in my experience!

    Can t wait to install the kit and go for my first ride.

    Cheers.

    Pierre.

    1. tomsimpson

      Hi Pierre, thanks very much for the feedback. It’s great to know that at least some of our packages are unaffected – glad it worked out for you! Tom

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