Parcel courier DPD UK will halt its road delivery services into Ireland until at least Wednesday, it said in a statement on Friday.
The pause will apply to road delivery services to the whole of Europe until January 13th, the courier said.
It said the move was a response to “complex” customs processes post-Brexit that had placed pressure on its turnaround and transit times.
“The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement resulted in more complex processes, and additional customs data requirements for parcels destined for Europe. This, along with delays and congestion at UK ports for Channel crossings, has placed extra pressure on our turnaround and transit times,” DPD UK said.
In view of this unprecedented set of circumstances we believe that it is only right to pause and review
“We are seeing up to 20 per cent of parcels with incorrect or incomplete data attached, resulting in these parcels needing to be returned to customers, so that the required data can be provided.
“In view of this unprecedented set of circumstances we believe that it is only right to pause and review our road service into Europe, including the Republic of Ireland.
“During this time, we will work with our customers to validate and correct the data we have in our system, to reduce the delays and enable us to resume normal service.
“This pause in our operation will be as short as possible and we intend to recommence this service on Wednesday 13 January.”
Temporary ease
It comes as the haulage industry has reported Brexit paperwork on deliveries to Northern Ireland from Britain is creating an “overwhelming” amount of work, as the region follows the rules of the EU single market to avoid a hard Irish border.
The Irish Times reports that in the Republic, customs arrangements for businesses importing goods from Britain are being temporarily eased as traders experience significant difficulties coping with post-Brexit border controls.
The Revenue Commissioners issued a general code on Thursday night to allow traders and hauliers circumvent customs arrangements, allowing them to move goods on ferries from Britain.
The move will allow traders to ship goods from Britain that they have struggled to move over recent days due to the new EU-UK border and customs checks that have delayed long-established supply chains.
