With Britain’s exit from the EU imminent, we have gathered the important details to prepare your business for this change.
The exit was set for the 29thof March 2019 but delays in negotiations and rejection of the withdrawal agreement has pushed the date forward to the 12thof April 2019 when a no deal Brexit is a possibility.
Firstly and most importantly, if your business trades in the EU then making sure you are fully prepared so that trade can continue smoothly is paramount. If Britain leaves with no deal then we will be trading with the EU on the same terms as the rest of the world, therefore, if you haven’t already then you will need to apply for and obtain an EORI number (Economic Operator and Registration Identification) to continue trading with the EU. You can apply for one here: https://www.gov.uk/eori
Once you have an EORI number you can appoint a customs agent to submit customs declarations using HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS) if you wish or you can also submit these yourself but many businesses prefer to have the expertise of an agent to handle the complexities of imports and exports and this can be very useful with Brexit on the horizon.
Secondly, there is the option to register for Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) which are simple measures introduced by HMRC that enable importers without an agent to defer from making customs declarations and paying duty. You will need a duty deferment account and your EORI number, you can apply for it here: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/form/transitional-simplified-procedures/Are-you-legally-established-within-the-United-Kingdom?n=0&se=t
For importers with an agent, there is an option to use simplified procedures by applying for Customs Freight Simplified Procedures. You can find out more about this here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-760-customs-freight-simplified-procedures/vat-notice-760-customs-freight-simplified-procedures
If you export goods to the EU then it is important you find out the Commodity Codes of your goods to enable you to fill out your export declarations accurately. You can find these here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/finding-commodity-codes-for-imports-or-exports
You can also use Customs Procedure Codes to identify the customs and excise processes that you may want to use depending on what your business does which can be very helpful if you want to suspend payment of duty and VAT when your goods are imported into a customs approved warehouse before being shipped to a UK customer for example.
The first step for any UK business trading with the EU however is to apply for an EORI number straight away.
If you would like more information and to see how we can help your business stay compliant through these changes and in general then get in touch with us here: https://smartiesbookkeeping.co.uk/contact/and we’ll be happy to help.