Once the three delayed inspections and controls after Brexit are finally implemented, exporters of EU cheese, auto parts and other commodities will face cumbersome red tape and will not be able to continue to sell to the UK after January 1.
They were originally scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2021, but were postponed to July, then to October, and finally to January 2022. Another set of control measures will take effect in the upcoming July six months later. .
In another turning point before Christmas, British government announced Paved the way for the Republic of Ireland, stating that while negotiations on the Northern Ireland agreement continue, inspections of cargo crossing the Irish Sea will be postponed.
The British government now believes that there will be no further delays in the new control of incoming goods, which will create a large number of old-fashioned jobs in freight, customs and food standards that have not been seen since the single market took effect in 1993. But what is changing?
What will happen on January 1, 2022?
For all products imported from the EU, the UK tax authorities will require complicated paperwork. Traders will no longer be allowed to postpone the completion of customs clearance procedures with the UK Revenue and Customs (HMRC), a measure designed to deal with the interruption of Brexit.
How will this document be submitted?
Before loading cargo on a ferry or train at Calais or other points of entry, the exporter must “pre-submit” paperwork to the correct authority by himself or through an agent. “Although many British transporters are fully prepared for this change, we suspect that many EU transporters are not,” said Jim Hara, HMRC’s permanent secretary.
Carriers will be obliged to record the cargo so that HMRC can determine if they can leave freely upon arrival at Dover, Holyhead and other ports.
The paperwork doesn’t stop there. A declaration related to the rules of origin must be completed to determine whether tariffs are applicable. Suppliers of EU agricultural products entering the UK must also notify the authorities of any exports in advance.
How about July 1, 2022?
The last set of control measures for products of animal and plant origin will take effect on that date, and all goods require export sanitary certificates and phytosanitary certificates.
Physical inspections will be carried out on arrival, although these inspections may be random or determined by information about the cargo. Safety and security declarations are also required for imports.
Where will the inspection take place?
HMRC encountered considerable difficulties in organizing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) control stations.In the summer, it confirmed that it was Greatly reduced the scale of planned facilities close to the famous White Cliffs Dover, now expects that most of the paperwork will be inspected in its Ashford truck parking lot.
The Port of Dover Health Department announced in early December that it would move to a new facility in nearby Whitfield Village.Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Confirmed that this is one of three potential SPS sitesA spokesperson said that another will open in Ashford, and the third location in Kent has yet to be determined.
Will everything go well?
According to HMRC’s own calculations, the number of customs declarations that need to be processed will increase from an estimated 48 million per year to 250 million, because these are required for goods from all 27 EU countries.
Hara told the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts in November that the “biggest risk” is the lack of preparation of EU traders, especially small and medium-sized companies.
EU traders may experience the same shocks suffered by Brexit Simon Spurrell, Cheshire Cheesemaker In January, there was a gap of £250,000 in his export business because the new requirements effectively closed his retail sales to the African continent.
Harra stated that HMRC sends letters to 14,000 EU transport companies every month to ensure they are prepared and provide a multilingual information booklet on the new rules.
Although the UK has been out of the European Union for a year, delays in import controls may make some people in the single market think they do not exist.
Increased management costs may encourage some traders to withdraw from the UK market altogether.
“The red tape of Brexit is an extreme disruption to the otherwise extremely sensitive world-class logistics business,” said John McGrane, director-general of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce.
“Many companies may argue that the UK has been preparing for this for six years. Why are all these inspections not conducted online?”
