Brexit continues to be an enormous deterrent to trade due to problems at customs control, according to UK-based SHD Logistics, which recently said the country’s international trade is down by 70 per cent. This primarily constitutes shipments from the European Union (EU). Small businesses , such as the many partner e-commerce retailers of the company, are being hit particularly hard.
Full customs controls between the EU and Great Britain (except Ireland) came into effect January 1, 2022. The customs arrangements in place for 2021 for goods moving from Ireland and Northern Ireland (NI) to Great Britain have been extended for as long as discussions between the United Kingdom and EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) are ongoing.
Businesses get used to knowing what the commodity codes are for their products. If they don’t know there has been code changes, they don’t amend them, and therefore, goods are held up in customs or returned due to ‘errors’, SHD Logistics said in a press release.
Brexit continues to be an enormous deterrent to trade due to customs problems, according to UK-based SHD Logistics, which said the country’s international trade is down by 70 per cent. This primarily constitutes shipments from the EU. Small businesses , such as the many partner e-commerce retailers of the company, are being hit particularly hard.
Clients with special customs requirements are struggling the most. The notifications and training for small and medium enterprises on these changes are poor and often fairly last minute, the logistics company noted.
“We are continuously developing our bespoke technology system Despatchlab to match changes as required. This is not compensated enough by government Brexit transition ‘support’,” it said.
“If products aren’t caught in customs, they’re delayed. Services we expect to take 3-5 days are taking more than double this time on occasion and we are unable to follow up with anyone. ‘Held at customs’ is what we’re told. We are advised on occasion a (new) certification is missing and the goods are returned to sender,” it elaborated.
“Individual countries are also changing what they do and do not accept, and no one seems to know where this information is being held. It certainly isn’t being communicated to us, our clients or carrier partners. When we contact customs directly, they are not able to provide us with the information we need. It’s impossible for operators to plan without the full picture,” the company added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
