The Government of United Kingdom (UK) confirmed, in a press release issued on 10 February 2020, that it plans to introduce import controls on European Union (EU) goods at the border when the transition period ends on 31 December 2020. After this date, traders in the EU and UK will have to submit customs declarations, and the goods may be subject to regulatory checks. The press release further informed that policy easements introduced to facilitate trade under a “no deal” departure will be withdrawn in order to treat trade between the UK and all 3rd countries in a non-discriminatory manner
- The withdrawal of the ability to defer import VAT to the VAT account of the importer, will result in import VAT being payable (at the time of import) on goods coming from the EU. This decision places a new financial burden on UK traders who import goods from the EU. UK traders will need to make provision for the cash payment or consider opening Deferment Account with customs.
- The Transitional Simplified Procedure (TSP) which was intended to allow registered UK traders to bring goods into the UK without any customs declaration at the time of import has also been withdrawn. Such traders will now have to ensure that arrangements are made to submit customs declarations prior to goods arriving in the UK.
The press release can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-confirms-plans-to-introduce-import-controls