According to the postal service of the Republic of Ireland, since Brexit, the number of packages coming from Great Britain has decreased by 68%.
Tougher EU regulations intended to stop tax evasion in e-commerce have made the problem worse.
Due to Ireland's trade relations with the UK, according to An Post, no other EU country experiences the same volume of non-EU parcels.
It has been called "excellent news" that the UK Post Office plans to set up "the necessary IT for customs.".
An Post had previously claimed that well-known British retailers like Mandamp;S and River Island had partnered with them to offer a straightforward "duty paid" option at the online checkout where customers could pay all VAT and customs charges up front.
Small businesses and private customers, it was claimed, were having problems because they were not aware of the "new complex data and tax requirements" that went into effect in July 2021.
The company claimed that unlike parcels sent in bulk from big non-EU retailers, for whom An Post can provide advice and assistance regarding the new regulations, "An Post has no simple way of advising the personal customers or small businesses posting parcels to Ireland from outside the EU.".
Similar issues could have arisen for Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol, but due to a grace period, EU regulations were never applied to GB-NI parcels.
Although there will be some requirements for logistics companies, the Windsor Framework effectively makes this grace period permanent.
The government will need data from authorized parcel delivery companies to monitor and control any risks of smuggling into the EU market.
By September 2024, that method of data sharing ought to be established.
