Following the fourth round of post Brexit talks between the UK and EU, there are a number of key updates.
Firstly, on Friday June 12th it was confirmed that the UK would not be looking for an extension to the Transition Period. This decision was formally accepted by Brussels, which puts an end to any further extension discussions. Brexit will now kick in fully on 1 January 2021 which means that Traders need to be ready for 1 January.
As a small relief, the UK Government did however resurrect a version of last year’s Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) to take effect on UK Imports from 1 January.
There are a few points of note in this:
- Declarations and Duty payments are only delayed for 6 months not removed. Therefore you will have to account for your imports from January to June in July.
- The relief does not apply to controlled goods – defined as excise goods and certain chemicals.
- There is a phased in relief on SPS checks for agricultural, food and plant based products, however some controls will be introduced immediately on 1 January.
If you were authorised for TSP last year, this authorisation may need to be renewed, however full details have yet to be received on how the simplified system will be implemented. We would expect, at a minimum, that you will need a Deferred Payment Authorisation to qualify for the relief.
The EU subsequently confirmed, as expected, that normal Import/Export procedures will apply to UK imports into the EU with no relaxations - a requirement under the Union Customs Code and Single Market Legislation. Therefore for Irish Importers of goods from the UK, Import SADs, Tariff’s and SPS checks will apply.
If the current discussions do result in a Free Trade Agreement then the customs duties will likely be removed on most products moving in both directions, however talks are ongoing in regard to this.
Finally, there were further discussions regarding the procedures to apply for imports into NI from GB.
In this context, as reported on by
Arthur Beesley in the
FT:
“UK officials told Northern Ireland business leaders on Wednesday that lorries leaving Britain for Northern Ireland would need HMRC clearance before embarking on ferries, with drivers having to present shipment codes to ferry operators, who in turn would submit them online via the new customs portal. While at sea, HMRC would assess which trucks require physical inspection when they arrive in Northern Ireland.”
More on this will follow as the talks continue.
Do you have a query regarding the impact of Brexit on your business or would like to discuss with us how best you can prepare? Contact BDO's Brexit Taskforce at [email protected].