Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of companies that need Economic Operator and Registration Identification numbers have them.

At present traders who trade with the rest of the world, (but not including the EU) require an EORI number. In the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal UK traders that only trade with the EU will need an EORI number. As part of no deal planning, HMRC is encouraging these EU-only traders to register for an EORI with HMRC.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimated that in 2017 there were 144,000 VAT-registered traders that only traded with the EU. A separate estimate indicates there are around 100,000 non VAT-registered traders that trade only with the EU.

Latest HMRC validated data show that between 1 December 2018 and 29 March 2019, which covers the period from the start of the business readiness campaign, there were more than 73,000 registrations for an EORI.

Registering for an EORI number is free and very quick – it currently takes around 10 minutes.