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Brexit 12 months on – further changes come into force on 1st Jan 2022

22nd December 2021

Although Brexit happened a year ago, some of the changes were transitional and provided simplifications which are now coming to an end.

We recommend that you take some time to check if these changes will affect the way you have to make import/export declarations. Courier companies and freight forwarders working on your behalf may require further information from you to fulfil the new requirements.

  • You will no longer be able to delay making import customs declarations under the Staged Customs Controls rules applied during 2021. Most businesses will have to make declarations and pay relevant tariffs at the point of import, but this should not affect you if you have been making full import declarations and paying applicable import duty/tariffs;
  • Following the latest review, the UK commodity codes used to classify imported and exported goods will be changing. Commodity codes are standardised up to 6-digits and reviewed by the World Customs Organisation every five years. You can find the latest details on this change at; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-goods-classification-2022-tariff-stop-press-notice-23
  • Ports and other border locations will be required to control goods moving between Great Britain and the EU. Unless your goods have a valid declaration and have received customs clearance, they will not be released into circulation, and in most cases, will not be allowed to leave the port.
  • You must have supplier declarations (where required) at the time you export your goods. Throughout 2021, you have been allowed to export goods to the EU using tariff preference and get supplier declarations afterwards to give you more time. From 1st Jan you will need to have the declarations before you export your goods.

Remember that if you’re a VAT-registered importer, you can continue to use Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) on all customs declarations that require you to account for import VAT, thus saving the cash flow cost of paying import VAT.

Tariff Preference

The UK’s deal with the EU, called the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), means that the goods you import or export may benefit from a reduced rate of Customs Duty (tariff preference). To use this, you need proof that:

      • the goods you import from the EU originate there
      • the goods you export to the EU originate in the UK

‘Originate’ refers to where goods (or the materials, parts or ingredients used to make them) have been produced or manufactured. It is not from where the goods have been shipped or bought.

Your goods will need to meet the product-specific ‘rules of origin’ set out in the TCA. This means that you can claim tariff preference if you have one of the following proofs of origin:

  • A statement on origin. The exporter must make this out to confirm that the product originates in the UK (or the EU if exported from there)
  • The importer’s knowledge. This option allows a UK or EU importer to claim tariff preference based on their knowledge of where the goods they’re importing originate from

If you export goods to the EU and provide the EU importer with a statement on origin, you may also need a supplier declaration. These are necessary to confirm the origin of the goods you’re exporting when the manufacture alone is not enough to meet the product-specific rules of origin.

If you have questions, please call or contact your usual TC adviser. You can also contact our dedicated Brexit Team if you wish to discuss this update or require specific advice.