Please wait!
06.03.2019
Taking into consideration the upcoming date of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on 29 March 2019 and the currently available information on the possible options for the delivery and receipt of postal items from that country, two potential scenarios are being considered as real ones: without an agreement between the UK and the European Union (EU) and with the relevant agreement. If the agreement is not signed, the exchange of postal items with the United Kingdom will be subject to the same conditions as applied to any other country outside the EU, while the conclusion of the agreement would set out a number of conditions for the exchange of postal items between the EU and the UK. At the moment, however, there is no clarity about either of the mentioned options.
If no agreement is reached between the UK and the EU regarding Brexit, all the procedures and tariffs applicable to any other country outside the EU will apply to the exchange of postal items with the UK’s postal operators. In regard to postcards, items in wrapper, letters and small packets to the UK, tariffs within this option would change by applying them in the same way as they are applied to postal items sent to countries outside the EU.
For example, the current cost of sending a postcard is €0.64 from Latvia to the EU Member States and €0.71 to any other country; sending a regular Class A letter weighing 20–50 grams costs €0.78 to the EU countries and €0.85 to other countries; sending a regular Class A item in wrapper with a weight of 20–50 grams costs €0.85 to the EU and €1.28 outside the EU; sending a Class A small packet up to 50 grams costs €1.85 to the EU and €1.99 to other countries. In the event of the UK’s withdrawal postal items to that country would be subject to the tariffs outside the EU also in regard to the items of other type and classification, such as Class B items, items with different weight, etc.
For parcel deliveries up to 10 kg tariffs from Latvia to the United Kingdom would not change at least initially, but for items above 10 kg they would be reduced, as a 0% rate of value added tax (VAT) would be applied instead of the current 21% when the item is dispatched for sending from Latvia to the United Kingdom.
At present there is a free movement of goods between the European Union Member States, including the UK, which will be terminated in the event of Brexit without the agreement. This means that customs procedures and taxes will apply to the sending and receipt of goods from the UK’s legal entities and natural persons. Non-commercial shipments from the UK with a value of up to €45 which will be sent by a private individual to another individual will not be subject to the customs duty. Low-value commercial items, such as items purchased in the UK’s online stores, will be exempt from the customs duty and VAT if their value does not exceed €22.
If the value of commercial items is between €22 and €150, the recipient will have to pay VAT in Latvia, but if the value of the goods received as postal items exceeds €150, both the customs duty and VAT will be charged.
If the agreement is not signed, changes are also expected in regard to express mail (EMS) items to and from the UK – their delivery in both countries will be prolonged by customs checks, the term of which cannot be determined at the moment. These items will also be subject to the customs duty and VAT.
If the agreement is concluded, the exchange of postal items between Latvia and the United Kingdom could take place either on the basis of the current treaties and in accordance with established procedure, or by establishing additional conditions and amendments.
There is currently no clarity about either of the possible patterns of postal item traffic between the EU and the UK in the future. As soon as the political decisions regarding the relations between the EU and the UK are known, the postal operators of the respective countries will also be able to clarify their future operations after 29 March 2019, and Latvijas Pasts will immediately inform its customers and the public at large.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 4,000 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
Phone: +371 67608505
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
twitter.com/latvijas_pasts | facebook.com/latvijas.pasts | instagram.com/latvijas_pasts