Problems shipping to Ireland - orders not clearing customs

There’s now a page on the Royal Mail website about shipping to Ireland. For convenience I’ll list below the whole page so as not to take anything out of context:

" Customs and Brexit - the Republic of Ireland

From 1 January 2021, the UK is no longer part of the EU’s single market and customs union and new rules apply. The UK extended the rules which only applied to non-EU postal items before, to include items received from the EU. Similarly, the EU now treats postal items from the UK as it did non-EU items before. This means there may be changes to how you send and receive items from abroad.

As of 1 July 2021, items imported to the EU with a value of €22 or less became liable for VAT.

For more information on how to send goods to EU countries more effectively click here.

Some further advice when shipping, using the IOSS option, to the Republic of Ireland

In recent weeks we have been experiencing issues with items to Ireland using the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) option, some of these items have been returned to UK sending customers. This is due to changes to EU shipping rules and the requirement to provide accurate customs pre-advice information, IOSS requirements included in this document. We have actively put in place a range of actions in our operation, where possible, to check item presentation and data. We currently believe only a small number of items are now being returned.

Irish customs have put in place restrictions on a number of HS codes for IOSS items. If sending an item to Ireland via IOSS please see the Restricted Tariff Codes to IrelandOpens in a new windowpdf, 194.5 KB to check that you do not send an item using a HS code that is currently restricted.

Irish customs will continue to inform us of any exceptions to these restrictions and any updates will be reflected in the above document.

It is advised customers wishing to send items under IOSS that are listed in the above restricted HS code document to use either a Delivery Duties Unpaid (DDU) product or the Delivery Duties Paid products.

IOSS Service Reminders

• In order for IOSS to work you must allocate the correct IOSS number to each item (parcel) you send to the EU
• For orders made through your own website you need to provide us with your IOSS number if you have registered for one
• If you are using Taxamo Assure, you register with them and provide us with Taxamo’s IOSS number
• If you are selling via a Marketplace, then you will use their IOSS number when shipping items via Royal Mail
• If you do not have an IOSS number from one of the above options, it’s not possible to use IOSS through Royal Mail and items will be sent Delivered Duties Unpaid (DDU). This means the recipient will be asked to pay VAT and a handling fee before the item is delivered.

Helpful Reminders for Customers

• Use a shipping solution where possible to ensure the provision of electronic customs data
• Include clear description of item contents in customs data and on your customs declaration in English
• Include where possible the postage cost in electronic customs data
• Use a valid EU Tariff (HS) code from an up to date EU Tariff code list
• Ensure item contents are not excisable or valued over €1000
• Provide where possible the item weight within the electronic data
• For all untracked items ensure a barcode label had been applied (S10 compliant)."