HMRC Issues its latest guidance to businesses about the UK leaving the EU

HMRC letter provides the latest guidance to businesses about the UK leaving the EU

We have published our latest letter to UK businesses that trade only with the EU, with details of important actions they need to take and changes to be aware of in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal. It is our third letter to businesses on preparing for the UK leaving the EU.

The letter asks businesses to take a number of actions to prepare for no deal. These include:

• registering for a EORI number at Get a UK EORI number to trade within the EU
• deciding if they want to hire an agent to make import and/or export declarations for them or if they want to make declarations themselves using relevant software
• registering for Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP), which 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 opens from 7 February on GOV.UK.

There are also important updates on the way businesses trading with the EU pay import VAT and use EU VAT IT systems if we leave with no deal. You can read the full letter at Letters on ‘no deal’ Brexit advice for businesses only trading with the EU.

These changes do not apply to trade across the Northern Ireland-Ireland land border. We will set out information about the arrangements for trading with Ireland as soon as we can.

New guidance

We have also published new guides on GOV‌.UK on:

• Customs procedures
• Moving goods to and from the UK
• VAT IT systems rules and processes

The guides provide further information explaining what these changes mean for UK businesses that trade with the EU. You can find the guides at Trading with the EU if the UK leaves without a deal.

New ‘Prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU’ tool

We have also published a ‘Prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU’ tool to help UK businesses find out:

• what they need to do to prepare for the UK leaving the EU
• what’s changing in their industry
• information on specific rules and regulations.

All businesses need to do is answer 7 simple questions to get guidance relevant to them and their sector. You can access the tool at Prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU.