HM Government Border Delivery Group Update


Grange Shipping received the following bulletin from HM Government Border Delivery Group this week:

"
This bulletin provides an overview of the latest EU Exit information relating to UK borders from across UK Government.

Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. This has not changed. However, the UK Government must plan for every eventuality including no deal. Without a deal, businesses may need to take action before 29 March 2019.

As intermediaries and trade bodies who work with UK businesses, the role that you can play in helping the UK Government reach out to businesses and individuals is crucial.

As well as using this bulletin for your own contingency planning, you can help us reach your clients, customers and members prepare by forwarding this email on or sharing the content via existing channels.

For more information, go to GOV.UK/EUEXIT.

Contents of this update:
1. Letters on no deal Brexit advice for businesses trading with the EU and/or the rest of the world
2. Poster/leaflet available to help traders prepare for a no deal EU Exit
3. Statutory Instruments relating to EU Exit laid in 2019
4. Apply for an ECMT permit by 23:59 on 16 March
5. French customs guidelines: guidance for UK businesses that move goods between the UK and France
6. New sector factsheets to prepare for EU Exit
7. UK Travellers to the EU – communication resources for you to use
8. Launch date for the EU Settlement Scheme confirmed
9. Providing services to EEA and EFTA countries after EU Exit - Guidance for UK businesses on EU service provision if the UK leaves the EU with no deal.


Letters on no deal Brexit advice for businesses trading with the EU and/or the rest of the world

HMRC sent a letter to VAT-registered businesses trading with the rest of the world, or the EU and the rest of the world. It explains actions to take to prepare for changes to customs and VAT procedures if there is no deal:

• getting a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number
• Transitional Simplified Procedures for customs
• customs facilitations
• moving goods within the EU using the Common Transit Convention
• further controls for exports
• changes to accounting for VAT
• VAT registration checks
• EU VAT refunds


Poster/leaflet available to help traders prepare for a no deal EU Exit

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, from 29 March 2019 traders will need to follow new processes, and may need new documents, to use the channel crossings or transport goods to and from the EU.

The Border Delivery Group have published a multi-use leaflet/poster to help you prepare for a no deal EU exit – you can download this here. This provides guidance on the key steps that importers and exporters will need to take.

Please share these products with your own stakeholders, customers and members to encourage traders to prepare.

The product (can be found on our downloads page), and will soon also be on GOV.UK where you can find additional communications resources and links to help you support your customers in preparing for a no deal EU Exit.


Statutory Instruments relating to EU Exit laid in 2019

On GOV.UK you can find more information about the Statutory Instruments (SIs) relating to EU Exit that have been laid in 2018 and 2019.

Use the following links to access SIs for:

• VAT
• Customs (including on Merchandise in Baggage)
• Excise


Apply for an ECMT permit by 23:59 on 16 March

You might need European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) permits to transport goods in the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) from 11pm on 29 March 2019 if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

The UK has secured an additional allocation of ECMT permits. Hauliers who have not previously applied for permits have until 23:59 on the 16th of March to apply. Those who have previously applied will be considered automatically so there is no need to reapply.



French customs guidelines: guidance for UK businesses that move goods between the UK and France on how to prepare for new customs procedures in the event of a no deal EU exit

If the UK leaves the EU with no deal on 29 March 2019 Brexit customs formalities and controls at the border between France and the UK will be reinstated for goods.

Any exchange of goods between France and the UK, both for imports and exports, will be subjected to two customs declarations, one to British Customs and one to French Customs.

This guidance from the French Customs and Excise helps UK businesses to prepare for the new arrangements.

You can see the full guidance here.


New sector factsheets to prepare for EU Exit

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, there may be changes that affect your business. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have published additional sector factsheets, to help you prepare for a no deal EU Exit. They bring together the top issues for each sector and provide guidance.

New factsheets are now available online for the following sectors:

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have also published sector factsheets for:

Please forward these links to your stakeholders that work in these industries to help them prepare for a no deal EU Exit.


UK Travellers to the EU – communication resources for you to use

Leaving the EU means a number of changes that will affect businesses and individual citizens. Prepare for EU Exit is a UK government campaign to inform British people about how to prepare and the steps they may need to take. You may have already seen the advertising in newspapers, and on billboards and buses.

The UK travellers to the EU strand of the campaign, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), aims to reach British people to:

• Inform them that EU Exit could affect their travel
• Encourage them to find official information on gov.uk/euexit and take appropriate action before they travel.

FCO have developed a campaign pack for partners like you to use to extend the campaign’s reach. This pack provides UK government communications advice and content for a range of issues relevant to UK nationals travelling to the EU.

Use this link to access the pack, and check regularly that you have the latest version. Please get in touch via email if you have any questions.


Launch date for the EU Settlement Scheme confirmed

The EU Settlement Scheme will launch in full on 30 March 2019. The EU Settlement Scheme makes it easy for EU citizens and their family members to get the UK immigration status they need after we leave the EU.

Additional changes to the Immigration Rules for the roll-out of the Scheme also confirmed that:

• EU citizens will be able to apply, free of charge, from within the UK or overseas (based on their previous residence in the UK).
• The Scheme will be open to citizens from other EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland, and their family members.
• The Home Office will start refunding any fees that applicants have previously paid from the end of March.
• The rules will also provide skilled business people access to two new visa routes to set up businesses in the UK – a ‘Start-up’ and an ‘Innovator’ visa route.

By the end of February 2019, the Home Office had received more than 150,000 applications during two public test phases of the EU Settlement Scheme. 75 per cent of applicants whose case had been decided received their decision within three days and 80 per cent of those who provided feedback found the online application easy to complete. Additional information including on how to apply can be found here.


Providing services to EEA and EFTA countries after EU Exit - Guidance for UK businesses on EU service provision if the UK leaves the EU with no deal.

If the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019 with no deal, UK businesses will no longer operate under European Economic Area (EEA) regulations for the cross-border trade of services. This means that the rights and protections provided by the EU Directives and EU Treaty Rights of Freedom of Movement and Freedom of Establishment will no longer apply to the UK.

UK businesses will no longer be treated as if they were local businesses, and UK businesses and professionals providing services in the EEA will be regarded as originating from a ‘third country’. UK firms and service providers may face additional legal, regulatory and administrative barriers as a result.

Therefore, you should check the regulations in the EU/EEA states in which you operate to understand the new rules with which you would need to comply. To assist with this, we have produced country guides that contain information and links to help businesses navigate the third country regulations in each country: Providing Services to EEA and EFTA Countries after EU Exit.


Border Delivery Group
"