If you are a VAT registered business trading only in the EU, you should receive a letter from HMRC in the next few days. It contains guidance on how Brexit will affect UK businesses and what you need to do now to prepare your business, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March 2019. With demand for HMRCs services likely to soar and resources stretched, it could mean things take longer to process than usual. Taking action sooner rather than later will ensure your business doesn’t suffer any costly delays or hold ups to your operations.
Preparing your business for a “No Deal” in 3 steps
1. Register for a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. Please get in touch if you already have a non UK EORI number or if you need us to apply for a UK one on your behalf.
2. Decide whether you will use a customs agent to make import and/or export declarations or will make the declarations yourselves using specialist software. Contact us if you would like help with this.
3. Contact the haulage companies that you use to find out if they have submitted their additional safety and security declarations. If you deal with the larger haulage firms then they will most likely have this in hand, if you use a small company you may need to submit these declarations yourself.
To see a copy of the letters visit letter on GOV.UK and as always, please speak to your usual adviser or one of our VAT team for advice if you are unsure about anything.
