Issues Selling to the EU and NI

We try and supply products all over the world and the EU represents a big part of that with nearly 30% of our sales going to the EU.

The processes required to sell into the EU and ship from the UK have always been rather complicated, especially after Brexit.  On the 13th December 2024 the EU will make selling in the EU far more complicated again with their new GPSR legislation.

We are honestly not sure that selling into the EU remains viable for a small business like Sim Racing Machines.

UPDATE: 9th December 2024 - After speaking at length with some experts in GPSR we feel more confident that we can keep selling in the EU but it will incur quite an expense.  So We will not stop selling to the EU for now :)

Over the years we have worked really hard to make the process as easy as possible when buying from us.  We currently...

  • Belong to the IOSS scheme for collecting and paying EU VAT
    • This means you don't have to pay customs fees.
    • We have to pay for this service and every month for the returns.
    • Couriers often mess this up and we end up paying the Tax twice.
    • We have to pay to have a Webshop that can cope with taxes.
  • Subsidised shipping costs
    • The most common complaint we have is that shipping costs are too expensive.
    • We subsidise the the costs of shipping so you pay less than we do.
    • Tried offering cheaper shipping methods
  • Accept payment in Euro
    • To make it easy for you we take payments in Euro which costs us to convert to GBP every time, especially with PayPal.

The new GPSR legislation means we will have to:

  • Appoint an authorised representative, there must be a written mandate in place specifying the tasks that the authorised representative agrees to and is authorised to carry out on the manufacturer’s behalf. The authorised representative must be based in the EU or NI.
  • Ensure that a product complies with the general safety requirement outlined in the Regulation before placing it on the market.
  • Carry out an internal risk assessment and draw up technical documentation on the product before placing it on the market. Technical documentation should provide a general description of the product and the characteristics relevant for assessing its safety.
  • Ensure that the product can be identified by consumers in an easily visible and legible way. This includes a batch or serial number or any other identifying element. If the size and/or nature of the product does not allow this, the information should be provided on the packaging or in a document accompanying the product.
  • Indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trademark, postal and electronic address and, if different, the postal or electronic address of the single contact point that consumers can contact them on. This can be a link to a webpage but it must be reasonably straightforward for the consumer to identify from that link where and how to make contact.
  • Where a product cannot be safely used as intended without it, ensure that products are accompanied with clear instructions and safety information in language consumers can easily understand.

  • Where a manufacturer believes a product it has placed on the market is dangerous, it shall immediately:

    • take necessary corrective measures to bring the product into conformity. This can include withdrawal or recall of the product, if appropriate
    • inform affected consumers of the corrective measures
    • inform the relevant Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs) through the Safety Business Gateway (see section 5 for further information on cooperation with MSAs)

As you can see the additional legislation is very complex and will require us spending a significant amount of money and time assessing every product for safety.  The new rules have not been publisised very well, most businesses only finding out about it a few weeks ago.

We have been discussing this with many other small businesses in the UK and most see this as just unworkable.  There is a very good chance that customers in the EU will be blocked from purchasing many products from the UK soon.

We are currently trying to find a way forward, but we wanted you to be aware that we might need to stop selling into the EU and NI for a period of time.

Simon Maltby

 

References:

General Product Safety Regulation - European Commission

EU Regulation 2023/988 on General Product Safety: detailed guidance - GOV.UK