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On importing and exporting to the EU

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To how to find and appoint an appropriate customs declaration agent

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To further information on how to apply for an EORI number

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Import and exports post-Brexit

Post-Brexit changes

Although the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 , the existing rules on trade, travel and business continue to apply during the transition period. During this period, the UK and the EU will seek to negotiate a trade deal. If they can’t, there will be a no deal scenario. The transition period ends on 31 December 2020 .

Official date

However, there are some known changes which are going to take effect, regardless of the final outcome of any trade negotiations.

One of them is that any UK business which moves goods into and out of the EU, or wants to, will have to make customs declarations from 1 January 2021 - this is mandatory. We advised you about this previously but we now have a confirmed implementation date ( yr.20, iss.22 pg.1 , see The next step ).

Import and export

If you don’t have one already, you will need to apply for an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number (see The next step ). To do this, you’ll need your:

• VAT number and effective date of registration (if your business is VAT registered)
• NI number (if you’re a sole trader)
• Unique Taxpayer Reference
• business start date and standard industrial classification code - these are on the Companies House register
• Government Gateway user ID and password.

Don’t delay

It takes around ten minutes to apply for an EORI number online. You’ll either get it immediately or within five working days if HMRC needs to make more checks.

Risk. If you don’t get an EORI number, you may incur increased costs and delays from 1 January 2021 onwards. For example, if HMRC can’t clear your imported goods into the UK, you may have to pay storage fees until they can be cleared. This could prove costly.

Making a declaration

The other thing you’ll need to do is decide how you’re going to make the customs declaration. Most declarations are submitted electronically through the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system.

If you’re going to do this yourself, rather than appoint an agent, you’ll need to apply for access to CHIEF and buy third party software that can submit declarations through CHIEF. However, the third party software isn’t cheap.

Tip. Due to their complexity and the costs, most businesses appoint an agent to make customs declarations on their behalf. Further information on how to find and appoint an appropriate agent is on GOV.UK (see The next step ).

For the previous article on importing and exporting to the EU, further information on how to apply for an EORI number and how to find and appoint an appropriate customs declaration agent, visit http://tipsandadvice-business.co.uk/download (CD 21.10.07).