BREXIT UPDATE ; You have 150 days and counting

On the 1st January 2021 you will potentially be liable for customs duty and import VAT when you import goods from the EU and you’ll need to submit safety and security declarations for all exports to the EU.

Metro has produced a Brexit health-check questionnaire to help traders prepare for January 1st 2021, when the transition period expires and the UK is no longer bound by EU rules and laws.

The questionnaire compiles the information and data that we need to assist you in continuing your trade with Europe and globally after midnight on the 31st December this year.

Whether or not a trade deal is agreed between the UK and EU, there will be a need for a formal customs clearance on every shipment leaving the UK into Europe or entering the UK from Europe. This is going to happen and needs a platform in place to facilitate.

This new requirement will apply in much the same way as for trade with the rest of the world currently.

Are you prepared and have you appointed Metro as your partner customs broker to cover all customs formalities, requirements and legislation? Metro operate a brokerage team that can handle all of your import and export requirements, whether we are acting as the carrier or simply to ensure you have a seamless customs process in place for your European movements by overland, rail, sea or air movement.

If you have not considered and put in place a solution your European supply chain will cease to operate with European movements.

The consequences of not being prepared and being unable to submit customs entries will be an inability to trade with European suppliers and customers.

The government has stated that it will not accept ignorance of the situation and all traders have a responsibility to be prepared for the new customs environment.

Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) is the new IT platform that The UK Government is currently developing to track movements digitally.

This however has only just gone into production and is some way from implementation and the test phase. Development is expected to be completed by October and the actual running of the system is still not finalised.

“GVMS is there to simplify trade and is still being developed. There is much more to be discussed. Regardless of the outcome, all types of businesses – whether you’re a port operator, a haulier or a trader – must prepare for the requirements needed for the way GVMS is envisaged.”

There are however certain elements of data that we know will be needed both for the GVMS process and also the customs process. These are included within the questionnaire that was recently sent to you for completion. A big aspect of the data required are the historic movements that you have moved so that we can analyse the scale and most appropriate tailored solution for you going forward – this can be gathered from your INTRAstat declarations – a simple way to gather the information.

The Metro technical team is working closely with our Brexit Task Force team to create a bespoke digital platform that will automate and simplify customs clearance into and out of the UK, handling all submissions through digitised data transfers.

With 500,000 additional customs entries in the UK alone being submitted every day after Brexit, digitalisation and automation will be critical and the only practical way to ensure that the customs system and supporting infrastructure is not overwhelmed. 

Please help Metro help you and agree a formal approach to both trade with the EU and global trade post Brexit withdrawal on 1st January 2021.

Metro’s Brexit Task Force, which comprises some of our industry’s most experienced professionals, was established 18 months ago to conceive and implement our Brexit solution and platform. We have a skillset and experts operating both from within and externally to the freight and logistics sector to provide a complete solution and the latest intelligence on developments and government announcements.

In addition we have formally partnered with Europe’s largest and most experienced customs consultancy and brokerage house, with offices and partners throughout the EU to provide our customers with immediate access to the widest network at gateways to ensure sustainable trade is maintained. This, along with Metros own in-house resource and BPO operations gives us access to over 500 experienced and qualified customs brokers working in the post-Brexit environment.

If you have not received a questionnaire, simply reach out and we will send you one by return and talk you through the requirements.

If you have received the questionnaire please take time to complete it and call and we will talk you through the process and where to find the data that we require to analyse your current and future needs so that we can build a tailored solution with you and arrange a follow up meeting.

150 days is not a long time in business, especially in the current pandemic crisis. Time really is of the essence.

We can help simplify your migration to the new way of trading with your European partners in the future.

The quickest way for us to identify your optimum solution and ensure that you are ready in advance of the 1st January 2021, is to get some basic information.

COMPANY NAME –
CONTACT –
EMAIL –
PHONE –
UK VAT NO –
UK EORI NO –

DO YOU HAVE:
Deferment account –
CFSP authorisation –

WHAT ARE YOUR TERMS OF SHIPMENT –

EXPORTS TO EU/IMPORTS FROM EU –
Annual volume –
Historical Intrastat data –
Total consignments by country
Products –

Once we have gathered the above information we will call you to discuss all optinos and put together a tailored solution that dovetails with your current and future requirements in trading with The EU.

Please contact Chris Carlile or Grant Liddell for full details on being Brexit ready to trade and we will ensure you have everything in place for customs platform in 2021. We will be in touch with you in the near future by phone to follow up on this advisory and assist you further if required.