Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice his Department has issued to businesses on the steps required to prepare for importing goods from the European Economic Area after December 2020.

In January 2020, HMRC wrote to 219,000 VAT-registered businesses that trade with the EU, explaining the actions they need to take to prepare for changes to customs arrangements after the transition period. The letter set out that businesses will need to make customs declarations for GB-EU trade and that they should start to prepare for this now by considering whether they want to use a customs agent or make declarations themselves. It also explained that businesses will need an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number that starts with the letters GB to be able to submit customs declarations. HMRC has already issued around 200,000 of these. This letter was supported by emails and social media to reach a wider group of businesses.

Alongside this HMRC are continuing to engage with key stakeholders (including Business Representative Bodies and Trade Associations) to seek their input and amplify HMRC’s messaging to ensure it is wide reaching and readily available to those who need to take action. This includes monthly meetings with the top 35 organisations who represent over 500,000 businesses in the UK.

HMRC will continue to provide clear guidance on the actions businesses will need to take, and HMRC will engage with them throughout the transition period to support their readiness to comply with these new requirements.