Firstly, if you know me, you will know I am a big supporter of Irish businesses. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t still enjoy some UK based brands. I also like supporting a friend whose business is based in the UK and who thankfully is an expert in all the paperwork and rules involved in the post Brexit world.

In 2014, Hayley Files created Equissentials Dressage with a friend  (https://www.equissentialsdressage.com/). The reason was simple – a shared love of matchy matchy sets seen in Europe through brands that were often not easily accessible in the UK or took forever to be delivered at considerable cost.

Equissentials Dressage allowed customers access to high-profile market leading brands such as Eskadon, Pikeur and Ps of Sweden. The business was ahead of its time as the matchy matchy obsession has grown stratospherically in the equestrian world.

Fast forward nine years and Equissentials Dressage is now solely ran by Hayley who prides herself on delivering a customised and personal service. Hayley loves to plug a gap in her customer’s market and introduce new brands to the UK market – Equissentials Dressage was the first UK stockist of the now incredibly popular PS of Sweden range. She also loves new and innovative products such as Catago (creators of the well-known Fir tech technology range) which have been added to the product catalog. The ethos behind the business is simple, if she wouldn’t use or wear it herself & on her own horses, it is not stocked. 

Always with her finger on the pulse of equestrian fashion, Hayley loves to bring new collections to her customers and places orders with suppliers to meet their individual demands focusing on creasing capsule collections that compliment each other. This service has created the Equissentials Dressage customer community on social media where customers share photos and experiences of purchases and chat with Hayley about forthcoming releases. It is this personal touch that sets Equissentials Dressage apart.

Prior to Brexit, delivering this service to Ireland was easy. Afterwards, it was, at first, a world of uncertainty as literally no one had a clue what was going to happen or how it would work. Given her background working for Royal Mail, who better to figure out the post Brexit red tape than Hayley herself.

I spoke to Hayley about buying from the UK post Brexit and what this means for Irish customers.

“Firstly” she explained, “you should not, as an Irish customer be charged VAT on an order from companies in the UK”. Hayley explained that UK VAT shouldn’t be paid on international orders. The tax is applicable in the purchasers own country, not the country where the business is located and depends on that country’s import rules.However, not every UK company is set up to support this. If you are charged UK VAT, you may still be charged Irish VAT at the parcels point of entry into Ireland.

However, in some circumstances you are able to claim the UK VAT payment back and this is done through An Post or the courier service that delivered the package. 

What about customs? Customs I know myself is the area that people fret about from worrying how much they will be charged to trying to decipher which text messages and emails are legitimately asking them to pay customs and which might be from scammers (every consumers worst nightmare). Hayley directed me to this link which allows you to input the value of your order and gauge roughly how much you will be asked to pay:

Website: https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/

You will need to describe the product, or input the customs code but it will give a rough calculation and breakdown of charges to expect. 

Most issues with customs, Hayley explained, centre around UK businesses either inputting the wrong commodity code (in which case the package won’t make it through customs), not putting a value on packages (in which case the value is often estimated by customs which may not be correct) or labelling packages as a gift (this doesn’t circumvent customs and again may lead to customs officers having to estimate charges).

So, how has Equissentials Dressage successfully navigated the post Brexit International market?

1) All orders for Irish customers are handled via an international courier on a 48-hour delivery service

2) VAT is not charged on any Irish orders.

3) All packages are clearly labelled with all required information including the value of the package and an electronic sales invoice attached to the shipment to speed up the process

4) Customs are settled directly between the courier service and the customer with clear communication and a secure online payment gateway.  

Based on Hayley’s advice above, when ordering from the UK, remember:

· Check the delivery cost to Ireland. While it will of course be dearer than for domestic orders, it shouldn’t be extortionate. I heard of someone being charged £45 by a company recently! As a guide, a 2 days express service from Equissentials Dressage is £17 directly to your door in Ireland.

· If delivery is extortionate, one thing to consider is An Post Address pal which may help you reduce the cost. This service provides you with a virtual UK address which the retailer ships your order to – they should only charge you the domestic UK shipping for this service (for example, £5.50 next day with Equissentials Dressage). Once your order arrives at the AnPost UK hub, you are notified and charged Euro6.50 for up to 20kg for the onward shipping to Ireland. The service takes 3-4 days from the parcel arriving with the UK hub, and are subject to the usual customs charges which AnPost will bill for. 

· You should not be charged VAT on an order from the UK to Ireland usually, however, some UK businesses are not set up to deduct VAT and you may be charged it. If you are, a way to offset the cost is to use Addresspal for cheaper shipping rates.