An Post returning packages from outside the EU-See 1st post

It's been covered in this local media article in Donegal. One independent councilor has been looking for answers.

Angus Laverty from An Post explained the situation with duty being charged.

“Customs duties etc are a matter for Irish Customs/Revenue,” he said. “They (Customs) dictate if an item coming into the country is liable for charges, and the level of charge to be imposed on the item. An Post then is directed to collect the charges before an item can be delivered.

“With regard to the broader issue of items coming into the country from outside the EU, including Great Britain, online shopping continues to grow in popularity with more shoppers buying online and delivery times for most ecommerce parcels faster than ever. 

“Online shopping delivery by An Post for local Irish and EU retailers and with larger international retailers such as Amazon, Marks & Spencer and River Island is running smoothly, and this accounts for more than 95% of e-commerce parcels coming into Ireland through An Post. 

“However, due to stringent new EU Customs rules governing non-EU goods, which came into effect on July 1, 2021, and due to the impact of Brexit, some customers in Ireland buying from smaller or specialist non-EU retailers and in particular smaller/specialist British retailers, are experiencing significant delays or not receiving their goods at all.  

“Gift parcels being sent by family and friends in Great Britain to Irish addresses are also being impacted.

“This is due to both an EU customs requirement for additional electronic documentation and more goods being either restricted or prohibited from coming into Ireland from non-EU markets.”

Mr Laverty said that many smaller, more specialist retailers were simply not aware of these requirements. Others had not put in place the necessary online shopping systems for selling to Ireland.  

“This is giving rise to Customs delays when these parcels arrive in Ireland and/or the items having to be returned to sender because the necessary electronic data is missing or incomplete, or the contents are restricted or prohibited,” he said. 

Mr Laverty added that there were no such issues when shopping online in Ireland or other EU countries as no Customs tariffs apply when buying from these locations. 

“Similarly, no issues arise when shopping with major British or international retailers where smooth online processes have already been developed with An Post,” he said. 

“An Post is working with Irish Customs, Royal Mail and other non-EU carriers to help them solve these issues and will be providing advice to consumers across multi-channels on how to get the most from shopping online and avoid some of pitfalls that can lead to delivery delays or non-delivery.” 

An Post will deliver a Guide to Online Shopping mailing to every address in the country over the coming weeks. It is developing a range of supports for these smaller, specialist non-EU retailers as well as for family and friends when they are sending goods or parcels to Ireland.

Mr Laverty said: “In the meantime, we advise customers receiving parcels (either online shopping or personal goods) from outside the EU to check with the sender that they are completing the appropriate documentation with any parcels they send.   

“Anyone experiencing delays or issues is advised to check anpost.com/customs for further information as this website is being updated daily.”

As per my last post, it really is easier said than done to guide a small non-EU merchant to be compliant.

That spiel from Laverty on Donegalalive.ie is just a cut and paste from the pre July 1st arse covering exercise they publushed when they pretty much knew they were not going to ease in non eu packet delivery to customers from July 1st. They laughably go on about how ioss makes it so easy for their partners to access the Irish online market, like it will solve the problem instantly, then they list all the UK businesses who have implemented it. It's 4. Not forty. Or five hundred forty or two thousand five hundred and forty. It's a lousy 4. Amazon, M&S, Boots and River Island, maybe a few others. Every other UK and world business source can go to hell overnight on July 31st. And its only here. My supplier who had my packet returned, half way, to Germany, Has not had a return from the rest of Europe. Cut and paste that up your h### Laverty.

That statement from Laverty is also dripping with subtle insinuations that shopping outside of the EU is a choice rather than a necessity… from my experience, this is almost always not the case. Most of the stuff I get from the UK or other non-EU stores/sellers is simply not available in Ireland or anywhere else in the EU

It worked for 2 of my Buyee packages, waiting to be stung by the next and will probally use it for my large Taobao order too, nearly €50 more expensive but cheaper than posting twice at this stage.

I have linked photos of them on here if it's any help, I didn't add any extra codes or anything.

Got these updates to tracking which were new to me. Package from the US.

23 September 2021 18:03

Your item is in Ireland. A customs charge has been applied and details have been sent to you. You can pay the fee on our website, or at your local Post Office.

23 September 2021 18:03

Custom charges have been paid. Your item will be processed and delivered to you as soon as possible. Please hold tight while we work through high volumes.

Another company giving up here, and similar to my own experience giving out that their packages are getting to Ireland quickly, then sitting for weeks before being returned, with no reason

It means its not in the US. Run that tracking number on AnPost tracking. You'll get this.

Your item is in Ireland. A customs charge has been applied and details have been sent to you. You can pay the fee on our website, or at your local Post Office.

A result for once. Edit; though theres no guarantee they won't send it back after you pay the fee. Before, the packet would be in the post office, yours as soon as you hand over the dough. Now...

I'm getting the impression that senders are supplying the information that their national postal services are requesting. It's then up to the national services to electronically register them and label them appropriately.

This is not the sender giving the insufficient information to their national carrier.

This is An Post refusing mail that has been processed by the national postal services of the most technologically advanced and biggest economic powerhouse nations of USA, China, Britain and Japan.

Are they deliberately trying to scupper the economy?

It seems that they have made it impossible for individuals in any of these countries to post to Ireland using their national services.

And they don't care

And what should be questioned is completely ignored by An Post, Government, regulators and media

European Union (EU) countries will strengthen the requirement for Electronic Advance Data (EAD) effective October 1, 2021.

Where is the October 1st date coming from?

Herein lies the problem. Postal Services across the EU acting in unison with clear guidance and communication could affect change. An Post acting out of step with its European peers* leaves Irish people as a miniscule portion of the recipients of these services in no position to drive change. Whatever about the original strategy and decision taken by An Post, it becomes more apparent by the day that we're acting out of step and this is not being acknowledged or discussed meaningfully. Companies are finding it easier to stop doing business with Ireland instead of attempting to comply. We have no leverage.

*Evidenced by multiple retailers saying they will no longer export to Ireland but are not experiencing problems with the rest of the EU.

FedEx sent me a bill today for customs charges, and it was a bit lower than I was expecting. It wasn't a whole lot more than it would have been if An Post had bothered to import it, actually. I'm going to be sticking with FedEx for all my stuff from Japan from now on. Definitely an option I'd recommend to others!

Will using retailers that don't use An Post avoid these issues.

That said some of the courier companies are truely abysmal. Had something delivered by UPS recently, almost nothing worked as described.

That's a royal mail issue - mis-directed into the UK and then forwarded to Ireland in boxes with all Great Britain post. Whereas they should be sorted in NI and Irish packages sent directly from there to AnPost. Just like AnPost send NI packages directly to NI

what's the email address for a refund of customs charges taken by an post again, I can't seem to search the thread?