Many British retailers are abandoning returns made by customers in the European Union (EU) because it would be too costly to pay the customs fees to ship them back to Britain, according to a report by broadcaster BBC on Friday.
It is “cheaper for retailers to write off the cost of the goods than dealing with it all, either abandoning or potentially burning them,” Adam Mansell, head of the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), told the BBC.
According to the report, almost one third of goods bought online by EU customers was sent back, with British retailers having to fill in customs forms and pay customs duty upon return to Britain.
“It’s part of the ongoing small print of the deal,” said Mansell.
Customers ordering goods from Britain to the EU are seen as the importers.
“You then have a courier company knocking on the door giving you a customs clearance invoice that you need to pay to receive your goods,” Mansell said.
Many customers choose to return the goods because they don’t want to pay the customs fee.
The returns are then stockpiled at retailers’ warehouses in Belgium, Ireland or Germany.
“We have encouraged companies new to dealing with customs declarations to appoint a specialist to deal with import and export declarations on their behalf”, the British government said, adding that 80 million pounds (109 million dollars) of aid had been supplied for that purpose. (dpa/NAN)
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