The UK was scheduled to leave the EU at 11pm on 12 April 2019. However, a further extension to Article 50 has now been agreed to allow more time to conclude a Brexit deal with the EU. This extension will last until 31 October, unless a deal is agreed earlier.
For the duration of the extension, the UK will remain within the EU Single Market and imports and exports will continue to be subject to EU rules.
Until a Withdrawal Agreement is passed by the UK parliament, the legal default position for the UK remains exiting the EU without a deal. It is therefore essential that businesses prepare for all possible outcomes, including a possible No Deal Brexit. In this scenario your packages could face delays if you don’t put the right preparations in place.
In readiness for a possible Hard Brexit scenario, here are some steps you can take:
- Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number: If you do not have an active EORI this will be needed for Customs Clearance, it’s free to apply and currently takes just a few days. You can apply here > Get a UK EORI number to trade within the EU
- Commercial invoice: This should include; goods description / tariff number / value & currency / packaging details / weight / origin / EORI number / Commodity code. Invoice Template attached.
- Know the commodity code of your goods: Commodity codes classify goods so you can fill in export declarations. You can look these up here > Trade Tariff Look Up
- Record keeping: You’re required to keep records for all traded goods you declare to HMRC for 6 years. The reason for this is for duty and tax purposes, and for government statistics.
We also recommend that you keep up to date on finer details which may be relevant to your business at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exporting-and-importing-goods-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-with-no-deal and also https://www.gov.uk.
Download > commercial-invoice-template-230kb
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us should you require any further advice.