SGL Bearings Ltd - EU Sales

Just because the UK has left the EU it doesn’t mean that we in the UK do not want to trade with our friends and partners in Europe. In the early stages of our exit from the EU, new Brexit rules in their different interpretations across EU member states and within the UK meant that the process of sending goods into Europe was a slow and cumbersome affair. As we’ve all adapted to the new rules and regulations this process has slowly become more streamlined and now delivery times into Europe are much closer to what they were in the pre-brexit days.

What is important is that everybody understands the rules.

If you are a business in the EU then you do not have to pay VAT on purchases from us providing that you have given us your equivalent VAT and EORI number.

You will however have to pay import duty on goods that you purchase from us unless the goods that we are supplying to you have originated within the EU. This often isn’t the case as even a large proportion of bearings manufactured by the tier 1 companies such as SKF bearings, NTN bearings, Timken bearings and SNR bearings are now manufactured outside of the EU.

What this means is that on receipt of the goods that we supply into the EU you will be required to pay an import duty in order to receive the goods. This usually needs to be paid to the delivery company prior to you receiving the goods but if you have your own freight forwarder then they will usually be able to use a deferment account to speed up the process of receiving the goods. The current import tariff rates.

Most bearings fall within the tariff heading 8482 and generally have an import tariff of 8%. This is paid on the total cost of the product and shipping together meaning if the bearings that you are purchasing from us have a cost of €100 and the shipping cost is €20 then the 8% duty will be charged on the total €120 giving an import duty payment of €9.60. It is important to keep this in mind when placing orders with us.

Tariff headings for other commodity items usually vary between 0% and 8%. You can search for the tariff on the EU TARIC consultation website
There are some occasions where tariffs can significantly exceed this. For example, the EU in February 2022 implemented tariff charges of 86.5% on the import of steel fasteners manufactured in China as it was decided that they were being manufactured and supplied at artificially low prices which was damaging to EU manufacturers. Whilst we will do everything that we can to keep our customers informed where we know of such large anti-dumping tariffs it’s important that you check this information before you place your order with us. If you have any doubt please contact us with the information on the products that you are planning to buy from us and we will let you know the current tariff code and import percentages. It doesn’t matter whether it’s  bearings, o-rings, v-belts or any other type of product that we supply, we have access to the tariff codes for each of these parts and can provide you the information accordingly.