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Zineps

For Dutch and Belgian webshops selling to the UK

Ship to the UK.Without the manual customs desk.

Zineps imports your orders, applies carrier rules by destination country, creates labels on your own carrier contracts and sends tracking updates. UK parcels follow a rule instead of a person, and returns come back through one portal.

Book a demoSee how it works

Example queue. Orders, carriers and statuses are illustrative, not a live account.

How do you ship from the Netherlands to the UK?

From 1 January 2021 a commercial parcel from the Netherlands to Great Britain needs an EU export declaration. On a direct sale to a consumer, the seller charges UK VAT at checkout when the consignment is £135 or less. Above £135, import VAT is due on importation. Northern Ireland follows different rules. Zineps imports the order, applies a UK carrier rule and creates the label on your own contract.

General information from those pages, not tax advice. It does not cover excise goods, gifts, online-marketplace sales, or a UK VAT-registered business customer who gives their VAT number.

Sources: GOV.UK: VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK (opens in a new tab), GOV.UK: Changes to VAT treatment of overseas goods sold to customers from 1 January 2021 (opens in a new tab), European Commission: United Kingdom customs (opens in a new tab)

The carriers you already use, with a UK rule on top

One queue for the UK and the rest of Europe

Zineps is shipping software for webshops in the Netherlands and Belgium that also sell to the UK. Label creation, tracking updates and the returns portal sit beside PostNL, DHL, DPD, GLS, UPS, FedEx and Bpost, so the UK is one more destination rule in the same queue rather than a separate process.

The problem

Why does a UK order take longer to ship than a German one?

From 1 January 2021 a parcel from the Netherlands to Great Britain needs a customs declaration, a goods description and a decision on who pays UK VAT and any duty. A parcel to Germany needs an address and a label. When the UK data is typed by hand, those parcels wait, or the customer can be asked to pay on delivery. Northern Ireland is a different movement.

Customs data lives in someone's head

Goods description, value and commodity code are collected per order, in a spreadsheet or a carrier portal. The orders to Germany and the orders to the UK sit in the same queue but need different work.

The customer pays at the door

If import VAT or duty is still unpaid on a Great Britain delivery above £135, the carrier can collect it from the customer, sometimes with a handling fee. The customer blames the shop, and some parcels are refused.

The return crosses the border twice

A return from Great Britain is another customs movement. Without a portal the customer emails, your team decides by hand, and nobody sees the status next to the original order.

The £135 line

Consignments of £135 or less and consignments above £135 are two different jobs

On a direct sale to a consumer in Great Britain, the seller charges UK VAT at checkout when the goods are outside the UK and the consignment is £135 or less, and registers for UK VAT to charge it. Above £135, import VAT is due on importation and customs duty can apply. Marketplaces, VAT-registered business customers, excise goods and Northern Ireland are different. In Zineps both groups start from the same imported order and use a different carrier rule.

Consignments of £135 or less

UK VAT is charged at checkout, then a carrier rule chooses the service

On that direct consumer sale into Great Britain, import VAT is not collected again at the border when UK VAT was charged at checkout. A customs declaration is still required. The carrier rule picks the service, and the customs fields that carrier asks for are reviewed on a demo.

  • Orders imported from Shopify, WooCommerce, bol.com and Amazon
  • A UK carrier rule by destination, weight or the promise made at checkout
  • Labels and tracking updates from the same queue
See this setup

Consignments above £135

Import VAT is due on importation, so decide who pays

Above £135, import VAT is due when the goods enter Great Britain, and customs duty can apply unless the goods meet the EU-UK rules of origin. Delivered Duty Paid and Delivered at Place say who pays. Which of those your carrier contract supports is reviewed on a demo.

  • Bring your own carrier contracts, including UPS, DHL and FedEx
  • A carrier rule sends the order to the service on your contract
  • Checkout landed cost, HS codes and DDP brokerage are reviewed on a demo
See this setup

What you get

The UK work that should not be a second job

Zineps imports orders, applies carrier rules by destination country, creates labels on your own carrier contracts, sends tracking updates and runs the returns portal from one queue. A checkout landed cost calculator, HS code classification and DDP or DAP brokerage are reviewed on a demo for your setup, not published here as live.

Order import

Orders from Shopify, WooCommerce, bol.com and Amazon land in one queue, so a UK label starts from the order instead of a copied address.

UK carrier rules

A rule sends UK parcels to the carrier and service you chose, by destination, weight or the promise made at checkout. Changing the rule does not mean changing the shop.

Label creation

Create the label for UPS, DHL, FedEx, DPD, GLS, PostNL or Bpost from the same queue. Which services each carrier offers to the UK is confirmed with the carrier.

Tracking updates

When the label is created, the tracking update goes to the customer and back to the shop. Support stops reading a carrier page out loud.

Returns portal

The customer starts the return, a label is created, and your team sees the status next to the original order. UK return options depend on your carrier contract and are reviewed on a demo.

Your own carrier contracts

Bring the contracts you already have. Rates, UK service levels and customs handling come from your contract, not from Zineps.

Tracking updates

Your shop

Order #10482

Tracking update sent. Example status, not a live order

Example tracking update sent to the shop and the customer.

  1. 01Order imported
  2. 02Rule applied
  3. 03Label created
  4. 04Tracking sent

Getting started

How does shipping to the UK work in Zineps?

Shipping to the UK in Zineps starts when orders are imported from your webshop. A carrier rule decides which carrier and service a UK parcel gets, Zineps creates the label on your own contract and sends tracking updates to the customer, and returns come back through the same portal. Customs data, landed cost and DDP are reviewed on a demo for your setup.

  1. 01

    Connect your shops

    Shopify, WooCommerce, bol.com or Amazon. Orders are imported into one queue.

  2. 02

    Add your carrier contracts

    Bring the carrier accounts you already use. Check with each carrier which services they offer to the UK.

  3. 03

    Set the UK rule

    Decide which carrier and service a UK parcel gets, and which orders wait for review before they ship.

  4. 04

    Ship, track, and take returns

    Labels are created, tracking updates go out, and the returns portal stays on the same queue.

How a UK parcel gets its carrier

A UK rule, next to the rules you already have

A carrier rule decides what happens to a UK parcel before anyone opens it. The example below is an illustration of that logic for a webshop in the Netherlands or Belgium, not a live account, not a customer result and not a statement about what any carrier offers.

Example rules

A UK rule instead of a UK desk

The same queue as your other destinations

Say a Dutch webshop ships 2,000 parcels a week, and a few percent go to the UK. Today someone looks at each UK order, opens a carrier portal, types the goods description and picks a service. With a rule, the order is imported, matched to the UK, and sent to the carrier and service you chose. Orders that do not fit the rule wait for your team.

Tracking updates go to the customer from that same queue. If the parcel comes back, the returns portal is the one your team already uses. Which customs documents and services apply to your account is reviewed on a demo.

Carrier rules

  1. 01 IfNetherlands, under 10 kg

    ThenPostNL

  2. 02 IfUnited Kingdom, standard promise

    ThenThe carrier you chose for the UK

  3. 03 IfUnited Kingdom, order not on the rule

    ThenWaits for review

  4. 04 IfCustomer starts a return

    ThenReturns portal, same queue

Review. Orders outside the rules wait for your team. Example rules. Your rules are set with you on a demo.

Example rules, not a live account. UK services, customs documents and landed cost are reviewed on a demo for your setup. This page is not tax advice: check UK VAT and duty with your adviser and GOV.UK.

Works with the carriers and shops you already use

Which carriers and webshops can you combine for UK shipping in Zineps?

Zineps connects UK shipping to the carriers and webshops already named on this site, for merchants in the Netherlands and Belgium. The carriers are UPS, DHL, FedEx, DPD, GLS, PostNL and Bpost. The webshops and marketplaces are Shopify, WooCommerce, bol.com and Amazon. Which services each carrier offers to the UK is confirmed with the carrier and reviewed on a demo.

Related pages

FAQ

Questions we get a lot

These answers cover a commercial parcel from the Netherlands to Great Britain, where the £135 line sits, what a carrier rule does for that parcel, and what still depends on the carrier contract, an online marketplace or a tax adviser. Northern Ireland is named where the rule differs.

01

How do you ship from the Netherlands to the UK?

From 1 January 2021 a commercial parcel from the Netherlands to Great Britain needs an EU export declaration. On a direct sale to a consumer, the seller charges UK VAT at checkout when the consignment is £135 or less. Above £135, import VAT is due on importation. Northern Ireland follows different rules. Zineps imports the order, applies a UK carrier rule and creates the label on your own contract. This is general information from GOV.UK and the European Commission, not tax advice.

02

How does shipping to the UK work in Zineps?

Shipping to the UK in Zineps starts when orders are imported from your webshop. A carrier rule decides which carrier and service a UK parcel gets, Zineps creates the label on your own contract and sends tracking updates to the customer, and returns come back through the same portal. Customs data, landed cost and DDP are reviewed on a demo for your setup.

03

Which carriers and webshops can you combine for UK shipping in Zineps?

Zineps connects UK shipping to the carriers and webshops already named on this site, for merchants in the Netherlands and Belgium. The carriers are UPS, DHL, FedEx, DPD, GLS, PostNL and Bpost. The webshops and marketplaces are Shopify, WooCommerce, bol.com and Amazon. Which services each carrier offers to the UK is confirmed with the carrier and reviewed on a demo.

04

Who pays UK VAT on a parcel from a Dutch webshop?

On a direct sale to a consumer in Great Britain, the seller charges UK VAT at checkout when the goods are outside the UK at the point of sale and the consignment's intrinsic value is £135 or less. That £135 is the whole consignment, not each item, and it leaves out transport and insurance when those are shown separately on the invoice. The overseas seller registers for UK VAT to charge it. There is no turnover threshold for this. If the customer is a UK VAT-registered business and gives their VAT number, the seller does not charge the VAT. If an online marketplace facilitates the sale, the marketplace accounts for the VAT. Above £135, import VAT is due on importation and customs duty can apply, including a zero rate when the goods meet the EU-UK rules of origin. The importer pays those charges unless the shipment is Delivered Duty Paid. Goods already in the UK when they are sold, Northern Ireland, excise goods and gifts follow different rules. This page is not tax advice.

05

What is DDP and should I offer it for the UK?

Delivered Duty Paid is an Incoterm: the seller arranges import clearance and pays import VAT and any customs duty, so the customer is not asked for those charges on delivery. Delivered at Place leaves those charges with the buyer. It can reduce refused parcels, but only when a service on your carrier contract supports it. Whether that fits your shop is reviewed on a demo. This page does not set it up for you.

06

Which carrier is best for UK parcels?

That depends on your contracts, your parcel size and your delivery promise, and no page can answer it for you. Zineps does not pick a winner either. A carrier rule does, and you can compare the carriers you brought on the same UK orders. Prices, transit times and customs handling come from the carriers, so check them with each.

07

Does the returns portal work for UK orders?

The Zineps returns portal is the same portal as for other destinations. The customer starts the return, a label is created, and your team sees the status next to the original order. A return from Great Britain is also a customs movement. Which UK return services your carrier contract includes, and how that customs step is handled, are reviewed on a demo for your setup.

08

Does Zineps calculate UK duties and HS codes?

A checkout landed cost calculator, automated HS code classification and DDP or DAP customs brokerage are reviewed on a demo for your contracts and shops. They are not published here as live for every shop, and this page lists no duty amounts.

09

What does a demo cover for UK shipping?

A demo walks through order import, a UK carrier rule, label creation and tracking updates on your shops. It also reviews customs data, landed cost and DDP options for your carriers and platform.

See UK parcels run on a rule instead of a desk

Bring your shops and your carrier contracts. We will walk through order import, a UK carrier rule, labels and tracking updates.

Book a demoPlatform

Request a demo

A few details about your shop and your UK orders, and we will get back to you.