We are now shipping to the EU and, as you will see below, there have been some significant changes due to Brexit.

Your purchase now becomes an import to the EU, so ZERO VAT is charged at the time of purchase. Instead, you will be charged Import VAT when the order enters the EU or after delivery. You will also be charged a customs clearance fee of about 18 euros and, if your order is above 150 euros there will also be 4% duty to pay.

WE WILL REFUND YOU FOR ANY CLEARANCE FEE AND DUTY YOU HAVE PAID. WE CANNOT REFUND VAT

The courier will send you an invoice for these fees. Once you have paid, if you send a copy of the invoice to us, we will send the refund to you.

Duty and clearance fees are new charges which have arisen due to Brexit. Even though most of our yarn is of EU origin, the EU is currently charging 4% duty on its re-import to the EU. We will refund this duty to you in full. We also recognise that it is difficult for you to order yarn from us without knowing what the customs charges will be and so we will also refund you any customs clearance charges incurred


Our usual courier, DPD, is still unable to deliver our products to the EU, so we are temporarily using FedEx as an alternative courier. Unfortunately the customs clearance processes by Fedex are not as straightforward as those offered by DPD from either a customer or seller viewpoint.

We will not charge VAT at the time of purchase but you will need to pay VAT to Fedex when the order is imported into the EU along with any customs charges and a Fedex customs clearance fee. We are no longer able to defer VAT for business customers, so for VAT registered customers the Import VAT will need to be paid and reclaimed in your normal VAT return.

The carriage rates of FedEx are significantly higher than DPD. To enable us to recommence sales to the EU again, we are absorbing these additional costs for the moment. Whilst we have undertaken to carry the duty, customs administration charges and additional FedEx carriage costs, we will review the situation in a few weeks' time and may need to increase our carriage costs if DPD remains unable to deliver our products or we are unable to find a lower cost way of getting our product to you using FedEx.

We anticipate that there will be some shipping delays in January and early February as both the UK and EU get used to the new customs procedures at their borders. Please allow extra time for delivery during this period

Whilst we have tried to make ordering from us as simple and painless as possible after the UK left the EU Customs Union on 31 December 2020, we have experienced some issues with our main carrier DPD wrongly classifying the product code for knitting yarn as a "prohibited" good (!) so they will not accept yarn for transport (we hope they will correct it soon). In the meantime, we are using FedEx to transport our goods.

Whilst we had worked with our courier DPD on a system to collect the Import VAT and all other clearance charges at the point of sale so that you only make a single payment at the time of order, this is not possible with Fedex. Once DPD reclassifies their product codes for knitting yarn, we hope to offer this option in the next few weeks, but for now we are not able to do this.

Below is some more information on our business after Brexit.

Will you still ship yarn to the EU after Brexit?
Yes, we are still be shipping our full range of yarns to the EU after Brexit. You can order, as usual from our Yarnundyed EU site.

Will my order be delayed because of Brexit?
We are doing everything we can to ensure Brexit doesn't cause any unexpected delays. But, we anticipate that, in January and early February 2021, when the new customs procedures begin, there are likely to be delays in deliveries due to shipping disruptions. So it could take longer for your order to arrive. After that, shipping times should be back to normal.

Will I have to pay VAT on my order?
Our sales to the EU are now VAT free. Previously orders from Yarnundyed had 20% VAT added for our customers without an EU VAT registration. However, Import VAT will be now be payable by the recipient of your order (along with duty and a clearance fee - see points below). The recipient of the Products will receive a separate request for payment of these charges from the courier, either when the goods arrive in the country of destination or after delivery. The recipient of the order is responsible for paying these fees.

I am registered for VAT in the EU. What will change?
Nothing will change when you make a purchase. You will pay no VAT at the time of purchase. However, you will now need to pay Import VAT when the goods enter the EU. The recipient of the Products will receive a separate request from Fedex for payment of these charges.
Please keep the payment records from Fedex as proof you have paid VAT - we do not receive these records and are unable to provide them to you later. You will then be able to reclaim the VAT.

Will I need to pay duty on my yarn?
No duty is paid on orders below 150 euros. Orders for yarn over 150 euros attract duty at 4% and will need to be paid to the carrier at the time of import (along with the VAT referred to above and a clearance fee). Although most of our yarn is of EU origin, it still attracts duty when re-imported from the UK into the EU. We don't think this is fair so we will refund you for any import duty paid (please send us a copy of the customs invoice from Fedex and we will pay you for the duty component and the clearance administration fee).

Do I need to supply an EORI number when I make a purchase?
No, it is not essential to have an EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) number for you to purchase our yarn. You can purchase yarn directly through our EU website at zero-VAT prices.

However, if you are registered for VAT in your country we recommend you provide your VAT number when ordering yarn. We can include it in the export information we supply to the courier. This number is used to exchange information with Customs Authorities and can help smooth the process of your parcel through customs.

If you are registered for VAT you may be asked to provide an EORI number, as the importer of record, when the goods enter the EU and you pay Import VAT. It is also likely to be required to reclaim any Import VAT you have paid to clear your goods through customs. Please retain the documents provided by Fedex for this as we are unable to provide these later.

Will I pay Customs Clearance Charges?
Yes, you will be charged a customs clearance fee by the carrier. Fedex will charge a fixed customs clearance charge of 18 euros or 2.5% of the total value of your order, whichever is higher. We will refund you for the clearance fee you have paid.

Will shipping costs increase?
We do not currently propose to increase our shipping costs on orders above 4kg. Our couriers have raised their prices due to the extra processes needed to export orders to the EU and we have absorbed these costs so that our customers have no extra shipping costs to pay. We are also temporarily incurring additional charges through use of Fedex which we will absorb for now in the expectation that a more cost effective solution can be found shortly.

We will review the situation in a few weeks' time and may need to revise this if DPD remains unable to deliver our products.

Unfortunately, the shipping costs for small orders have increased far more significantly so we have increased shipping costs for these. We advise you to place larger orders, less frequently, if at all possible.

As indicated above, we had been exploring an alternative shipping mechanism with DPD where we can collect the Import fees at the time of the order so that the product is delivered to you without the need for any additional fees. This shipping option may require us to increase our carriage fee slightly, but assumes that DPD will amend its product codes to again allow yarn to be transported to the EU (DPD has acknowledged this mistake but needs to change this EU wide before the product can be accepted again).

Will you be raising prices after Brexit?
No. Our yarn prices will remain the same. We have absorbed the extra costs associated with getting our business ready for Brexit.

We will, however, continue to monitor fluctuations to exchange rates as well as the costs of raw materials, as we usually do and this may affect prices in the future.

Can I still return goods after Brexit?
Yes. Our usual returns policies apply. If you wish to return Products, please contact us and we will provide information on how to do this.


Thank you for your understanding and your continued support for Yarnundyed through this difficult time