Inspection rate increased! Customs strictly checks British agents, some sellers' goods were detained

The policy environment for the cross-border e-commerce industry is favorable, and the country is vigorously encouraging the development of cross-border e-commerce. However, for cross-border sellers, although various supports and bonuses are attractive, they should still put cross-border trade-related regulations first and strictly abide by them.

Recently, many sellers have reported that British Customs has stepped up its inspection efforts , and some of their colleagues have already been affected.

Sellers' goods are checked! UK customs inspection rate increases

It is understood that recently many sellers have seen such news from different channels: Due to the recent strict inspection by the British TS department, the British Customs requires that British goods must be affixed with British representative information (company name + address + contact information) + manufacturer information. If it is found that the product has no British representative information and manufacturer information, in addition to supplementing the information, it may also face high fines, otherwise it will not be released. Please pay attention to this, sellers!

The editor inquired about the situation with a service provider, who said that if the selected goods do not have British agent information, they will be required to be destroyed. Even if the customs permits the goods to be relabeled in the supervised warehouse, the whole process is very troublesome, time-consuming and costly.

Sellers of chargers, lamps, electrical appliances, and toys should pay special attention. Since the inspection categories involve the above product categories, in order to ensure product safety, sellers should provide corresponding valid test reports and certification documents .

In fact, as early as nearly a month ago, the news that "customs require that product goods must be affixed with British representative information" came out. At that time, many sellers doubted the authenticity of the news and their attitudes were very different.

Some sellers said that although they don’t know whether it is true or not, they have already started to do it. When the European agent started to upload the information, they asked Amazon customer service, but the answers from Amazon customer service and online customer service were inconsistent. Some customer service told the British agent that it would be necessary from January 2022, while some customer service said they were not sure. At the same time, some sellers believed that this news was not reliable, saying, "This was the same statement at the beginning of last year, which caused panic. Will it be another routine this time..."

Some time ago, some sellers reported that they were caught by customs before the New Year, and because they did not have a British agent, they were detained at the customs. At the same time , some industry insiders said that since the UK no longer recognizes European agents, some categories still need to find other agents in the UK, which makes sellers in the 3C category sweat.

Last year, Amazon issued a policy that forced sellers to add EU representative information. According to the new EU product safety regulations, starting from July 16, 2021, products with the CE mark sold in the EU must be labeled with the contact information of the person in charge. It is illegal to sell products with the CE mark but without the contact information of the EU person in charge.

At that time, although Amazon did not force sellers to add British representative information, the requirement to add European representative information was enough to make many sellers panic: the European representative has already come, so how long will the British representative be far behind?

"After the European agent, there is the British agent. What other agents will there be after the British agent?" Many sellers doing business on the European site complained: "It is getting more and more difficult to deal with the European site. After dealing with one 'agent', there is another 'agent'. I am busy spending money all year round!"

Is the British agency the general trend? Sellers: Prepare to flee the European station!

Under various circumstances, many sellers said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do business on the European site. "Do I really have to get a UK agent after the European agent? If there are countries that leave the EU in the future, do I need to get another agent? I want to escape from the European site!" At the same time, many sellers have different opinions on whether to register a UK agent↓

Don't rush into it unless you get clear notice.

It doesn’t cost much anyway, so just get one.

Although the UK government required it, Amazon did not.

Sellers who want to comply with regulations can prepare to register with the British agency in advance.

British Customs has already begun to seize non-British goods.

As of now, sellers have different opinions on whether to register a British agent. The news about the British agent is true and false, and it is impossible to make a clear judgment for the time being. However, based on the discussions of some sellers and the policies issued earlier, the British agent is basically inevitable, and it may only be a matter of time before Amazon forces you to supplement the information of the British agent.

"As early as 2020, the British government issued an announcement clearly stating that the UK does not recognize authorized representatives and responsible persons in the EU," said a seller. If a manufacturer is outside the UK and wants to sell CE and UKCA marked products in the UK , it must have an authorized representative or responsible person (British agent) located in the UK. In other words, if the seller meets the above conditions, he must register a British agent.

Previously, there were also news in the industry that Amazon had issued a notice on the implementation of the UK agent from January 1, 2022, and stated that products without relevant label information of the UK agent will be prohibited from entering the FBA UK warehouse, and the goods in the warehouse will also be removed. At that time, some sellers stated that they were randomly inspected by customs and were detained at customs because they did not have the UK agent affixed.

Although Amazon has not yet introduced clear regulations requiring the registration of a UK agent, the British government's policies have already clearly defined the sales and entry thresholds for cross-border goods . It is only a matter of time before Amazon requires the registration of a UK agent.

Some sellers revealed that they had not registered a British agent before and had always used a European agent for delivery, but they were checked by British customs. It is recommended that European sellers who sell electrical products make preparations in advance to avoid unnecessary losses.

In addition, there is another situation that sellers need to pay attention to. A seller who only sells on the UK site said that he has already registered a UK agent , but the backend manager does not have a UK regional option, so he has to register a European agent , which is really a pity.

In response to this, some peers said that the Brexit transition period has not ended, so if you want to sell products in the UK, you still need a European agent. In other words, during the transition period, sellers on the UK site are very likely to need to submit information on both the UK agent and the European agent at the same time in order to sell products normally in the UK.

Today's cross-border e-commerce has passed the era of wild growth. Sales are not as simple as buying and selling. With the continuous changes in policies and the increase in relevant clauses, the era of cross-border e-commerce compliance has arrived. As a cross-border seller, if you want to move forward steadily and avoid unnecessary losses, you must pay attention to the relevant rules and policies of cross-border trade, and pay attention to and consider issues such as British agent application and product labeling in a timely manner. As the saying goes, a fire in the city gate will affect the fish in the pond. If the store is closed, the weight and traffic of the store will inevitably be affected, which is not worth the loss.

customs

British

Seller