Brexit – Removal Of Easements

The election dust has settled and the new UK Government is taking shape. It is now becoming apparent that companies importing and exporting in the UK need to consider customs and customs compliance to its fullest extent.

The Government has recently confirmed their plans to introduce import controls on goods at the border after the transition period ends on 31 December 2020. Effectively all imports and exports will become subject to these controls, including the requirement to submit (full) customs declarations, also those arriving from EU countries.

It was also confirmed that the policy easements put in place for a potential no deal exit will not be reintroduced as businesses have time to prepare. Although no specifics were provided, the expectation is that the removal of duties for over 80% of products, the Transitional Simplified Procedure (TSP) and Import VAT postponed accounting mechanism will all be withdrawn from the EU Exit legislation and not return upon the UK’s exit from the EU on 1 January 2021.

The removal of these easements mean that companies may need to re-consider their Brexit readiness position and anticipate additional activities and cost for customs compliance as well as for deferment of duties and import VAT.The press release from the Cabinet Office and the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP can be found here