The majority of our cuckoo clocks are sent to our customers directly from European countries such as Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Due to Brexit, as of the 1st of January 2021, the UK is now outside of the customs union and so we no longer benefit from the reduced costs afforded to us by being part of the customs union. This means that several extra costs have to be factored into our pricing so that we can protect our business, and also make sure that customers are not surprised by any extra costs which they would otherwise have to pay to UK customs.
In doing so, we can now confidently say to our customers that:
Please also note that our small family business has needed to hire additional accounting assistance and 3rd party consultancy to keep abreast of shifting import rules and extra paperwork. All of this is an ongoing cost, but we have not factored these additional costs into our product prices so that we can keep our prices competitive whilst also doing our best to offer accurate and timely services.
After January 1, 2021, import VAT and tariffs will be chargeable to our clocks that are coming from our clockmakers in the European Union. We have opted to use 'Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)' so that we can be responsible for any import costs that are required when goods cross the borders. We have done this to save our customers time and money.
Please see below for a comparison between the two systems: