With Brexit negotiations between the EU & UK likely to be heading towards a ‘no deal’ it’s especially important that you work on your future planning of your Customs activity. Lets make it a success for you.
Transition Period – 1st February to 31st December
Initially you should check transition period on the HMRC website
The link above is for advice from HMRC as a business on what to plan to make sure you have in place during this Brexit transition period.
HMRC have not yet updated their guidance on what to expect once we reach 31st December 2020.
HMRC withdrew a lot of guidance documents in February on Brexit as it became incorrect or on hold. This is largely because of a lack of clarity from central government. Not in any way an ideal situation especially given the current economic climate.
Right now, importers and exporters continue to follow EU / HMRC rules on tariffs and other regulations.
Freight forwarders will now need to consider how they move goods from / to the EU. There will likely be different processes in place to handle the potential increase in Customs formalities.
You should still maintain your own Customs planning for when Brexit happens to make the future a little less uncertain.
Customs Declarations
Brexit Future Customs Planning – UK Based Business
HMRC have put in place a guide on how this may work.
However, there are elements which would seem to suggest that there would be intervention by a freight forwarder. It’s not entirely clear where this may occur, as frictionless movement of goods is the ultimate goal.
What is clear is that in the event that there is then some form of border it will be necessary to pay import VAT.
The other question mark is on whether Duty would apply – this will almost certainly depend on the importer’s goods. EU / UK should agree this by 31st December 2020.
There will be a lot more you’ll need to do depending on your individual business needs.
Important: See also my guide on importers and exporters getting EORI registered.
**Correct as of 11th May 2020**
