London (AFP)

"It's practically impossible to deliver in the EU": as for this English cheese maker, Brexit turns into a nightmare for companies and consumers confronted with unpleasant surprises, from the payment of VAT to that of health certificates.

The exit from the single market on January 1 did not at first glance cause any major upheavals thanks to the trade deal reached on Christmas Eve.

But Brexit has many consequences, often unfortunate.

For Simon Spurrell, a cheese maker who produces the famous Stilton and owner of the Hartington Creamery in Derbyshire (central England), "the problem revolves around health certificates", he told AFP.

For every package shipped to the EU, be it a single piece or an entire crate, he has to pay £ 180 for a certificate of conformity signed by a veterinarian.

For his small business, this is untenable, since 20% of his online sales go to the EU.

"We may just have to leave the market," he explains, while looking to the United States and Canada.

This health certificate, which also applies to meat and fish, is far from being the only complication of Brexit for British consumers who find themselves paying VAT, in the order of 20%, on products imported from the EU.

Testimonies are multiplying in the British press, such as this 26-year-old Londoner who had to pay an additional 82 pounds for her coat paid 200 pounds from a European distributor.

As of January 1, 2021, for goods sent direct to consumers in the UK valued at less than £ 135 UK VAT is collected at the time of purchase, which in theory changes nothing for the customer .

But it forces distributors to register in the UK, which has prompted some to stop exporting to that country.

When the price is greater than 135 pounds, the tax is paid by the recipient, in this case the British consumer, when the good crosses the border, resulting in a possible additional cost compared to the purchase price noted.

Sometimes the delivery company requires payment at the time of handing over the shipment.

- Settle in the EU?

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"It is not a customs duty certainly but it will make European goods more expensive," Gary Rycroft, partner of the law firm Joseph A Jones & Co, located in Lancaster (north-west of England).

"It is a protectionist measure because it creates a trade barrier", but "it is the reality of Brexit", according to him.

This is also the case in the other direction, for purchases made for example from France from a distributor in the United Kingdom.

For businesses, there is the headache of the rule of origin, which places a duty on goods manufactured abroad but exported from the UK to the EU.

"A growing number of small exporters are suffering with rising shipping costs, customs declarations, rule of origin, fees and VAT," said Mike Cherry, chairman of the FSB, the British Federation of Small Businesses.

Around 20% of UK SMEs have suspended exports to the EU, UK accounting firm UHY Hacker Young estimated last week.

"When companies get used to customs declarations, things will improve," says Michelle Dale, one of her managers in Manchester (northern England), to AFP.

The leaders of the main British employers' organizations expressed concern on Thursday during a meeting with the public authorities of "significant difficulties" in British ports.

Some companies are even going so far as to set up in Europe, far from the project defended by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to strengthen the attractiveness of the United Kingdom.

The aim would be to ship the goods wholesale to a distribution center in Europe, before selling them, without being subject to the constraints of exporting directly to a customer.

This is what the English cheese maker, Mr Spurrell, is planning to do, perhaps in France: "For the moment, the only possibility for all producers would be to have an establishment in the EU".

© 2021 AFP