Overseas Trade

(asked on 21st July 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what arrangements have been made through the Border Operating Model to help traders unfamiliar with customs procedures to make entries into their own records.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 7th September 2020

Traders importing standard goods into Great Britain from the EU between 1 January and 30 June 2021 can make a record in their own commercial records at the point of entry of goods into Great Britain and then follow this with a supplementary declaration which must be submitted to HMRC within six months of the point of import. They will need to record details of the goods in their commercial records, including information such as the classification, value, and weight of the goods. In order to make a delayed supplementary declaration, the importer will need to become authorised to use customs simplified procedures or appoint an agent that is authorised. Further information can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/declaring-goods-brought-into-great-britain-from-the-eu-from-1-january-2021.

The vast majority of the UK’s rest of world traders use an agent or intermediary to comply with customs formalities and manage their logistics and transport needs. Based on this, the Government expects that intermediaries will play an essential role as the majority of UK businesses trading with the EU will want to use their services to facilitate the import/export process.

The UK has a well-established industry of customs intermediaries which serve British businesses. The sector is varied and made up of a number of different business models including specific customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators. HMG has recently announced an additional £50 million of grant scheme support for the sector to increase capacity, in addition to the £34 million of support made available so far.

The £50 million support package will boost the capacity of the customs intermediary sector to help provide businesses with further support ahead of the new processes taking effect from January 2021. Those who currently complete or intend to complete customs declarations, either as an intermediary on behalf of their clients or importer or exporter for their own goods, are able to apply.

Reticulating Splines