Leaving the EU with a “No deal” exit

The European Union

As politicians continue to battle it out, and as we’ve previously communicated, in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, the HMRC have published a third letter in an attempt to help businesses prepare.

Three actions for business to take

As the Benjamin Franklin quote goes, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”, their letter acts as a reminder and outlines actions that will need to be taken in order to make ready for this potential outcome.

These actions include:

  • Registration for an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. You will need a UK EORI number to trade within the EU – you can register for this here
  • Deciding if you want to hire an agent to make import and/or export declarations for you, or if you want to make declarations yourself using relevant software
  • Registration for Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP). This is a new process to make importing easier than it otherwise would be for the initial period after the UK leaves the EU, should there be no deal. Registration for this is now open via GOV.UK

There will be an update on VAT and the use of EU VAT IT systems too. You will be able to pay import VAT in your next VAT return for instance, rather than when goods arrive at the UK border, if there’s no deal.

For full details, read Letters on ‘no deal’ Brexit advice for businesses only trading with the EU.

New HMRC guides and tools

Creating new guides to aid business processes and provide further context of what changes could mean for UK businesses, HMRC have created the following:

For more guides, see Trading with the EU if the UK leaves without a deal.

Although there’s a lot to consider and implement, the topic is most definitely one that shouldn’t be ignored. This is why HMRC have a new tool to guide businesses to the most relevant information.

Answering seven questions to get guidance about your specific sector, you’ll learn more about:

  • What you need to do to prepare for the UK leaving the EU
  • What’s changing in your industry?
  • Information on specific rules and regulations

To access this tool, visit Prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU.

When you’re ready to make these changes, please don’t hesitate to get in touch to find out how Bevica can help with the transition. You can reach us via the contact form or call us on 01483 751888.