Significant changes in the exchange of postal items with the UK as of the 1st of January 2021

03.11.2020

As the transition period of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) ends, starting from the 1^st of January 2021, the conditions for the exchange of postal items with that country within the EU will change. This means that residents of Latvia have to reckon with changes both when receiving and sending postal items to the UK. Inbound items of a certain value from the UK will require customs clearance and payment of taxes. When sending letter-post items to the UK, no changes to postal tariffs are envisaged, but they will affect postal parcel items over 10 kg, which will be subject to a 0% VAT rate instead of 21% VAT from next year.

Considering the withdrawal of the UK from the EU at midnight on the 31^st of December this year, as of the 1^st of January 2021 Latvian residents are also expected to be affected by changes in the exchange of postal items with that country. Latvijas Pasts is actively working on measures to implement the changes, preparing relevant amendments to the company’s information systems and notifications in the applications available to customers, such as the self-service website Manspasts.lv, where customers can process their items remotely, as well as on the spot at post offices and when training the employees of the postal network and the Customer Centre.

It should be noted that Brexit will affect the processing and delivery time of both outbound and inbound items, but inbound items from the UK with a certain value will require additional customs formalities, as these items will also be subject to the customs duty and VAT. 

With the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, no changes are planned in the cost of sending letter-post items – postcards, letters, small packets and items in wrapper – to that country, and after the 1^st of January 2021 the same tariffs as before will apply to them. In turn, there will be changes to the tariff for postal parcels weighing over 10 kg: these items will be subject to a VAT rate of 0% instead of the current 21%, which means that postal parcels weighing more than 10 kg will have lower postage for sending items from Latvia to the UK than now. For example, if the current tariff for sending a postal parcel weighing 11 kg to the UK is EUR 65.99 with VAT, from the 1^st of January 2021 the postage for sending a parcel with an equivalent weight will be EUR 54.54, including VAT.

At the same time, it should be taken into consideration that as of the 1^st of January 2021 inbound items from the UK will be subject to the same customs clearance procedures as items from any other country or territory outside the EU. Items up to EUR 22 will not be subject to the customs duty or VAT, so customs clearance procedures will not be required. Commercial items, such as goods purchased in an online store, with a value of between EUR 22.01 and EUR 150 will be subject to VAT, but those above EUR 150 – both to VAT and the customs duty. 

Meanwhile, non-commercial items – gifts or goods sent by one natural person to another natural person – with a value ranging from EUR 22.01 to EUR 45 will not be subject to the customs duty or VAT, but items from EUR 45.01 to EUR 150 and more will be subject to both VAT and the customs duty.

Similar changes are also expected for express mail or EMS (Express Mail Service) items to and from the UK. In all cases, when sending any type of items to the UK and other countries or territories outside the EU, in accordance with the requirements of the Universal Postal Union from the 1^st of January 2021 the sender will have to provide maximum details about the contents, recipient, value, weight and country of origin of the item. Inaccurate or incomplete information may delay the delivery time of such an item.

Detailed information on the conditions of the taxation procedure for the postal items from the UK and on the customs clearance is available from the State Revenue Service on https://www.vid.gov.lv/lv/pasta-sutijumi; phone: +371 67120000.

The UK’s official withdrawal from the European Union started on the 31^st of January 2020 with a transition period until the end of the year, the 31^st of December.

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 over 3,200 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
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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