UK Broadens Eligibility for Simplified Procedures for Imports From EU if No-Deal Brexit

The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue & Customs is expanding the access and breadth of Transitional Simplified Procedures that will be put into place if the U.K. leaves the European Union with no transition deal, as is currently set to happen April 11. TSP will now be available at all U.K. ports if the U.K. leaves without a deal (instead of just roll-on, roll-off ports), and will give importers a longer grace period before they have to begin filing customs declarations and paying duties for goods from the EU, HMRC said in a March 22 press release.

That grace period will last until Oct. 4, 2019, to make customs declarations and pay import duties for most goods imported from the EU up to Sept. 30, 2019, HMRC said. After Sept. 30, “customs declarations and payments will need to be made on the fourth working day of the following month,” HMRC said.

HMRC will now also give importers -- including those that don’t use TSP -- until Sept. 30 to provide a guarantee to cover any customs duties they want to defer, the release said.

Importers can register for TSP as a “simple next step” after registering for an Economic Operator Registration and Identification number (EORI), HMRC said. “Once a business is registered for TSP, it will be able to transport goods from the EU into the UK without having to make full customs declarations at the border or pay import duties straight away, to allow businesses time to prepare for usual import processes,” it said.

HMRC will also allow freight forwarders to operate TSP on behalf of their clients, the British International Freight Association said in a statement applauding HMRC’s actions. The extension of TSP “provides more time to make the necessary preparations, fully test the systems, establish the communication links between the parties involved in the processes, and make sure that everyone concerned is aware of their responsibilities,” BIFA said.

Documentation requirements and application processes for TSP had “discriminated against existing holders, particularly relating to special procedures” when they were first announced by HMRC in February, BIFA said. “This is a very significant easement of policy and one for which BIFA, amongst others, lobbied hard to ensure all modes were treated equally,” BIFA Director General Robert Keen said. “By allowing freight forwarders to operate TSP, the extension recognises the critical role that the freight forwarder plays as an intermediary in the UK’s supply chain.”

HMRC also issued a new guidance document March 22 on making customs declarations using the transitional simplified procedures. For most goods imported from the EU to the U.K., importers will have to record “directly into your commercial records” certain information on the goods, their value and the supplier. A separate “controlled goods” procedure applies for goods requiring licenses or excise tax goods like tobacco and alcohol, the guidance says. Then the importer will have to make a supplementary declaration by the fourth working day of the month following arrival of the goods into the U.K. (at least beginning Oct. 4, when the above-mentioned grace period ends for these declarations).

Importers already registered for VAT will be able to “use VAT postponed accounting which means you include your import VAT in your next VAT Return,” the guidance said. “If your business is not registered for VAT, we’ll introduce a new method for paying import VAT. We’ll give more details shortly,” it said.