It's now become a revenue stream for UK and EU.
Prior to Brexit I was quoted £145 total to bring a half pallet over from Wales to Ireland . No paper work ,just call give details and pay.
Unfortunately due to Covid shutdowns I couldn't get all the components to be placed onto the pallet ( manual gearbox conversion ) at the place of despatch , Brexit passed and it all went South.
My pallet, which I undervalued down to €200
,was collected last Monday and delivered here today.
Pallet courier now charged me £99 + VAT and a customs/clearance charge of £65 + Vat = £196.
Meanwhile the Irish Revenue Commissioners decided that they wanted a piece of the action and I had to pay a Customs Complience Agent €56 Vat , €10.53 duty and €25 admin fee ( circa £80 total ) before the pallet could be released for delivery.
Prior to anything happening I had to get what is called an EORI ( economic registration and operators identification) certificate from The Rev. Comms. which was a ballache to secure .
So my £145 quote went up to £276 .
I've also been caught out twice when purchasing from EbayUK when I failed to look below the postage charges to where the customs charge is listed .
I now purchase all expensive items from within the EU although their "postage "prices are creeping up as they see an opportunity to capitilise on the EU/UK thing .
As a staunch Brexiteer I have to live with my decision but it's interesting to see how both sides are clearly making money from the situation.