Debenhams shuts Irish webstore on Brexit issues

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 7, 2021

The Debenhams webstore may still be operational pending any news on whether the brand will be bought by Frasers Group, but it has ceased taking orders in the Republic of Ireland for now due to complications linked to Brexit.

The company said new Brexit trade rules have created uncertainty and “we have therefore made the difficult decision to temporarily switch off debenhams.ie".

The issue appears to be the Brexit ‘rule of origin’ clause that has reportedly caused confusion for a number of retailers.

The clause in the 11th-hour Brexit trade deal says VAT and import duties must be applied to goods that have been made — or that contain components that were made — in countries outside of the UK or EU and that are being resold to EU consumers.

That could apply to a huge number of products with the tax meant to be collected at the point of sale. The news comes in the same week that several European retailers said they could no longer ship to the UK due to similar issues.

There are concerns from EU-based retailers that they’ll see higher costs and much more paperwork. But UK retailers are also worried and many are currently analysing their situations to see just what’s needed to be able to sell easily to customers in EU countries.