Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Trader Support Service will provide assistance on (a) SPS checks and (b) the transiting of Northern Ireland to Great Britain goods via Dublin port.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Trader Support Scheme will offer core services focusing on both trader education and the completion of customs processes.
• In relation to trader education, the Service will:
o educate businesses on what the Protocol means for them, and the steps they need to take to comply with them (including getting relevant Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers)
o support businesses developing processes to accurately provide the Trader Support Service with all the information it needs to submit declarations on their behalf (including information on the ‘risk’ status of the goods)
o advise businesses on the additional documents/licences that they will need (for example, a permit is needed to import endangered species (CITES) goods).
• In relation to completing processes, the Service will:
o submit relevant declarations into CDS (and hold the necessary authorisations required for simplified declarations)
o submit relevant safety and security declarations into HMRC’s Import Control System (ICS)
The Trader Support Service will be able to help all traders who need the service, regardless of size and at no additional cost, to support businesses with changes to trade under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the volume of declarations that will be made using the Customs Declaration Service between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the calendar month of January 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC are committed to having systems in place to deliver the NI Protocol and facilitate the flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This will include ensuring that electronic declarations for both fiscal and regulatory purposes can be received and processed.
The Customs Declaration Service (CDS), the system for Northern Ireland, has been built to handle 60 million declarations per annum. This will be sufficient for movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Trader Support Service will become fully operational for all traders.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Trader Support Service (TSS) was launched on 28 September and will be making declarations on behalf of traders from 1 January. The Trader Support Service will be able to help all traders, regardless of size and at no additional cost, to get their businesses ready for changes to trade due to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has completed work on the final version of the Customs Declaration Service for use for trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The changes required on the Customs Declaration Service to facilitate Northern Ireland’s trade with Great Britain and the Rest of the World have been in the trade test environment since 15 October and are on track to be implemented in December.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Trusted Support Service will be operational for all eligible declarations between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 1 January 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Trader Support Service (TSS) was launched on 28 September and will operate on behalf of traders from 1 January.
The Trader Support Service will be able to help all traders, regardless of size and at no additional cost, to move their goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to import goods into Northern Ireland from the Rest of the World.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HMRC has made of the number of traders that will make customs declarations for the first time in Northern Ireland as a result of the Northern Ireland protocol.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Declaration volumes will depend on how businesses choose to operate, and HMRC are engaging with industry to understand their operating models.
For traders importing into Northern Ireland the Government has announced a major package of investment to help traders engaging in new processes under the Protocol. At the centre of this package is a new, free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS) - an end-to-end support service which will educate traders on what the Protocol means for them and complete import and safety and security declarations on their behalf.
The TSS will be backed by funding of up to £200m, enabling businesses of all sizes who move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland or import goods into Northern Ireland from the Rest of the World to draw on the support it provides.
The Government has been actively engaging with businesses and has committed to giving businesses the information and support needed to be ready to make changes at the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HMRC has made of the number of traders in Great Britain that will make customs declarations for trade with Northern Ireland for the first time as a result of the Northern Ireland protocol arrangements.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Declaration volumes will depend on how businesses choose to operate, and HMRC are engaging with industry to understand their operating models.
The Government’s Command Paper sets out that trade from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK should take place as it does now. There should be no additional processes, paperwork or restrictions on Northern Ireland goods arriving in the rest of the UK. There will be unfettered access, as provided for by the Protocol.
The Government has also been clear that there will be no export or exit declarations for goods leaving the rest of the UK for Northern Ireland
For traders importing into Northern Ireland the Government has announced a major package of investment to help traders engaging in new processes under the Protocol. At the centre of this package is a new, free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS) - an end-to-end support service which will educate traders on what the Protocol means for them and complete import and safety and security declarations on their behalf.
The TSS will be backed by funding of up to £200m, enabling businesses of all sizes who move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland or import goods into Northern Ireland from the Rest of the World to draw on the support it provides.
The Government has been actively engaging with businesses and has committed to giving businesses the information and support needed to be ready to make changes at the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HMRC has made of the potential total cost to UK businesses of EU tariffs being applied on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain by default.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As stated in “The UK’s Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol” paper published in May, Great Britain and Northern Ireland form one customs territory. The Government will ensure that no tariffs will be paid on any goods that move and remain within the UK’s customs territory.
To ensure that trade flows freely, the Government will make full use of the provisions in the Protocol giving it powers to waive and/or reimburse tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, even where they are classified as ‘at risk’ of entering the EU market. Only those goods ultimately entering Ireland or the rest of the EU, or at clear and substantial risk of doing so, will face tariffs.
This principle needs to be formalised with the EU within the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC have made an assessment of the likelihood of the technology needed for new customs and regulatory processes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland being in place by the end of the transition period.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC are committed to having IT systems in place to facilitate the flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This will include ensuring that information for both fiscal and regulatory purposes can be received and processed electronically.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 25 on page 11 of the document entitled, The UK's Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, what assessment HMRC has made of how a genuine and substantial risk will be determined; and what estimate HMRC has made of the proportion of goods which will be charged a tariff under this definition.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As the Government said in the Command Paper published on 20 May, there should be no tariffs on goods remaining within the UK customs territory. Only those goods ultimately entering Ireland or the rest of the EU, or at clear and substantial risk of doing so, will face tariffs. This principle needs to be formalised with the EU within the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.