Customers of DHL Globalmail in the United Kingdom will soon no longer be able to send parcels to consumers in the European Union. The carrier is not yet operationally ready for the new customs rules that will take effect on July 1st.
Like Chinese and American online retailers, sellers in the United Kingdom will also face a customs levy imposed by Brussels. From July 1st, the measure applies to parcels worth up to 150 euros that are shipped from outside the EU to one of its member states. It is a temporary measure that precedes the abolition of an existing customs exemption.
Flat fee and new requirements
Online retailers will soon face a flat fee of 3 euros on low-value parcels imported into the European Union. For postal services such as Globalmail, duties must be paid by the sender or declarant, rather than by the recipient. The introduction of the fee comes with additional data requirements and other new obligations for shippers. Earlier this year, carriers including DHL, FedEx and UPS warned the EU that these new requirements could not realistically be implemented before July 1st.
Unable to support
DHL has now taken action. British online retailers that ship low-value goods to EU consumers through its Globalmail service will temporarily be unable to do so. “The DHL Globalmail service is currently unable to support this process as it does not have a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) solution, where the fees would be covered by the seller”, reports British news platform ChannelX. The company says it is working on such a solution, but it has not indicated when it will be ready.
Service suspended from June 24th
As an unwanted but necessary consequence, DHL will temporarily suspend the service from Wednesday, June 24th. The final collection day will be the preceding Tuesday. The suspension only affects Globalmail shipments containing goods destined for the EU. DHL Express services remain available. British online retailers that already hold inventory within the European Union are also unaffected.
Structural handling fee
The measures introduced by Brussels are intended to reduce the influx of products, particularly from China. Last year, 5.8 billion low-value ecommerce parcels entered the European Union, 26 percent more than in the previous year. Repeated inspections have shown that many products shipped directly to consumers from third countries do not comply with EU product regulations and safety standards.
EU wants to curb influx of unsafe products
Separate from the temporary customs levy, the European Union is working on a permanent handling fee of around 2 euros per parcel to cover the costs of customs inspections. November 1st of this year is often mentioned as the intended start date, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.
