Het Britse Douanetarief

Op 19 mei 2020 heeft de Britse regering het nieuwe Britse Douanetarief gepubliceerd dat van toepassing zal zijn vanaf het moment dat het Verenigd Koninkrijk de EU daadwerkelijk verlaat.

De publicatie komt na een openbare raadpleging eerder in het jaar en de samenvatting van de reacties van zowel het publiek als de regering is hier te vinden. Het volledige Britse Douanetarief  tariefschema kan hier worden bekeken en een volledig overzicht van het Britse Douanetarief in CSV-formaat is hier beschikbaar.

Het doel was om het tarief te vereenvoudigen en af ​​te stemmen op de Britse economie. De belangrijkste principes voor het nieuwe tarief zijn gericht op de interesse van Britse consumenten en bedrijven, het stimuleren van de Britse productie en het behouden en bevorderen van het internationale concurrentievermogen van het Verenigd Koninkrijk.

Het nieuwe Britse Douanetarief is van toepassing vanaf het moment dat het Verenigd Koninkrijk de EU daadwerkelijk verlaat, momenteel gepland voor 1 januari 2021.  Het bestaande EU Douanetarief zal van toepassing blijven tijdens de overgangsperiode.

De belangrijkste wijzigingen die het Verenigd Koninkrijk in het bestaande EU Douane tarief zal aanbrengen, zijn:

  • Vereenvoudiging van het tarief door de tarieven voor goederen met lage tarieven (minder dan 2%) te schrappen, de tarieven af ​​te ronden naar de dichtstbijzijnde tariefgroep en stappen te ondernemen om complexe landbouwmaatregelen te vereenvoudigen
  • Het schrappen van tarieven voor bijna 2.000 goederen waar het voordelig is om de kosten voor zowel producenten als consumenten te verlagen
  • Handhaving van tarieven in verschillende sectoren om Britse bedrijven te ondersteunen en de bredere strategische doelstellingen van het Verenigd Koninkrijk te bereiken

De Britse regering heeft beloofd dat zij het handelsbeleid van het Verenigd Koninkrijk zal blijven beoordelen en verbeteren door middel van voortdurende samenwerking met het publiek, belangrijke belanghebbenden en adviesgroepen.

Een belangrijke observatie is dat ongeveer 2.000 tariefcodes zijn verlaagd tot 0% en dat de meeste andere zijn afgerond naar de dichtstbijzijnde tariefgroep. Desalniettemin blijven de tarieven nog steeds van toepassing op de meeste tariefcodes en moeten bedrijven die producten importeren of van plan zijn producten te importeren, rekening houden met het nieuwe tariefschema van het Verenigd Koninkrijk en met andere douanefaciliteiten om de Britse douanerechten te beheren.

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

Brexit consulting

Brexit: UK’s Future customs arrangements – a future partnership paper

After months of speculation, the UK has now published a position paper setting out the UK Government’s thinking on the future relationship with the EU. This paper, Future customs arrangements – a future partnership paper, is the first in a series of papers and focuses on UK’s aspirations for future customs arrangements.

UK’s Government acknowledges that UK traders are a key part of UK’s economy. Any new customs system should be as facilitative as possible to encourage growth in trade with the EU and the rest of the world. Furthermore, any arrangement should mitigate any additional administrative burdens or delays.

The EU Customs Union has formed the backbone of UK’s trade relationship with the EU for many years. UK’s  customs and trade provisions are fully integrated with the EU.  The options currently suggested by the UK would continue this strong relationship with the EU. It is based on ‘undisrupted’ trade between the UK and EU and simplifications for crossing borders or even removal of the need for a UK-EU customs border.  It should also provide the UK the possibility to pursue its independent trade policy objectives.

UK Government acknowledges that the ultimate customs arrangement will depend on the coming negotiation. Part of the strategy is the introduction of a transitional measure of close association between the UK and the EU. This help both sides to minimise unnecessary disruption. The paper indicates UK’s believe that the customs and trade relationship with the EU is critical and that they would likely require more time to achieve a realistic and acceptable solution.

This paper was welcomed by the EU as a positive step towards the negotiations. Furthemore, it provides valuable insights in the strategy and envisaged future relationship between the UK and the EU. However, the EU dismissed the paper within hours. Brussels noted that UK’s withdrawal from the EU – supported by the article 50 procedure – should be addressed first before the future customs relationship can be negotiated.

The next round of talks between the UK’s and EU’s representatives start later in August. It will soon become clear whether this paper will be considered in their negotiations.

For businesses, nothing has really changed yet.  Potentially the paper has created additional confusion and uncertainty due to the introduction of an interim solution before arriving at an end-state.

It is still pertinent for traders to understand the feasible scenarios and the impact these have on trade and operations in a post-Brexit situation. This will help in identifying key areas of attention, prioritise actions and resource as well as support in active engagament with government.

Introducing myself

After having worked for over 15 years in customs and international trade consulting with large consulting firms, Arjen established Customs & Trade Consultancy in 2016.

The aim of Customs & Trade Consultancy is to use Arjen’s international experience and passion for trade in providing importing and exporting companies with a pragmatic and pro-active approach in dealing with complex customs and international trade issues.

After finishing a tax law education at the University of Leiden in de Netherlands, Arjen started his professional career with Deloitte in the Netherlands. Subsequently, Arjen moved to an international role with Ernst & Young in London where he was the UK practise lead with overall responsibility for the global trade team leading various UK and international projects.

Arjen has great experience in the industry and is credible and reliable partner to advise small, midsize and large companies on customs and trade topics. His aim is to provide a flexible and solution oriented approach, which will allow companies the achieve the business objectives and improve the their compliance and effectiveness of the supply chain.

With the leadership roles Arjen fulfilled, he has built an extensive experience in various industries, including consumer goods and retail, automotive, manufacturing, logistics, life sciences and telecommunications.

Arjen’s passion is to help companies better understand the relevant requirements and allow them to maintain and permanently sustain a high level of quality and compliance. This will also allow the identification and implementation of cash (duty) savings as well as operational cost savings.

Customs trade

We’re live!

Proud to launch Cutraco Customs & Trade Consultancy Ltd.