EMS Shipping - EORI - Can No Longer Buy From Asia

Dragonflly

HI,

I have been buying items (mainly a few clothes) from China, Japan and other Asian countries, one or two items about twice a year just for myself (so not much) for a few years without any problems until now.

I have now been told by a few vendors in Asia that since Brexit EMS shipping has made it mandatory for me to have an EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) in order for EMS to ship to the UK. I have now been told by a number of sellers in Asia that this cannot be avoided and that no shipping via EMS to the UK is possible without one.

I looked on the Government website (https://www.gov.uk/eori) and it clearly states that :

1: An EORI is for businesses only
2: As an individual I cannot get one for personal use (ie. ship personal items I've bought to me)

How do we in the UK now buy items shipped from Asia to the UK via EMS (some stores will only ship via EMS) if we can't get an EORI number ?

Has anyone else come across this and how did you resolve it ?

Apparently this is a consequence of Brexit which now looks like it is now impacting not just buying from Europe but now Asia.