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26 Mar 2026

Bira has welcomed the government's £319 million investment in high street revitalisation, while warning that without reform of business rates and action on overseas imports, many high...

19 Mar 2026

This one's sobering: 42% of small businesses reported a cyber breach in 2024, according to the National Cyber Security Centre. And it's not just massive corporations being targeted. It's small,...

19 Mar 2026

The Chancellor held a roundtable discussion on a future high street strategy last week, with Bira the sole voice representing smaller retail businesses. Read an update on Bira's place at a...

18 Mar 2026

An independent bike shop is refusing to sell or repair e-scooters over concerns about how they are being used, with the area’s police force backing the call and urging others to follow...

17 Mar 2026

Walking, wheeling and cycling across the Liverpool City Region are saving the NHS £53.8 million every year, according to the latest Walking and Cycling Index, with cycling playing a key...

13 Mar 2026

Findings from consumer rights publication Which? add to calls from the E-Bike Positive campaign to better scrutinise these sites and promote quality e-bikes from reputable manufacturers and...

6 Mar 2026

The Metropolitan Police have seized more than 50 illegal e-bikes during a two-day crackdown in London as part of a wider effort to tackle crime linked to illegally modified electric bikes.

5 Mar 2026

ACT parent company Bira has warned that the Chanellor's Spring Statement offered no new support for high street businesses, as rising tensions in the Middle East threaten to push up energy...

4 Mar 2026

The UK cycle industry were brought together at COREbike 2026, with retailers, distributors and industry partners gathering for several days of meetings, networking and product showcases.

3 Mar 2026

A Scottish bike repair shop and cafe has recently moved premises into a bigger unit thanks to a growth in business, with the local council noting the positive impact it would have on the local...

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IRC Survey: Rule changes for businesses selling products to consumers in EU countries

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

On 1st July 2021, rules changed for businesses selling products to consumers in EU countries.

The EU has introduced an EU E-Commerce VAT Package - allowing businesses to charge the relevant country's VAT at point of sale and for reporting/remit to be actioned via an IOSS (Import One Stop Shop) intermediary to all 27 EU countries in one simplified return.

The VAT Exemption for the sale of goods below €22, where the goods have been stored outside of the EU was removed from 1st July 2021.

Whilst IOSS is designed to make remittance simple, the changes have impacted upon retail businesses in a number ways, resulting in many simply ceasing the sale of goods into EU countries.

The Independent Retail Confederation (IRC), a group of industry associations representing over 100,000 Indie Retail UK businesses, are seeking urgent input from their members impacted by the recent changes to provide us with valuable information we can present to Government.

As total UK exports to the EU in May 2021 were buoyant we fear that Government has lost sight of the impact upon the Independent Retail sector and we need to address the seriousness of this issue in a quantifiable manner.

If you sell products, plan to sell or have recently stopped selling into the EU due to the recent change in processes, please take a few minutes to complete this important survey.

Entries must be submitted before close of play on 09/08/21 in order to ensure we can get your views included in our presentation to Government.

If you know of any other Independent Retail businesses that export to the EU, please feel free to share this survey request with them, the more contributions we have the stronger our representation will be.

 

Take the survey now

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