Brexit: What you need to know

The cargo-partner teams in the UK and Ireland offer dedicated customs clearance services and are experienced in connecting shipments across the Irish Sea, across the English Channel and between Great Britain and the rest of Europe. The teams have been supporting customers since Brexit was announced, so are always up-to-date on the latest customs checks. 

Following Brexit, the UK’s departure from the European Union resulted in several years of upheaval for businesses needing to keep up with new customs regulations for UK-EU trade.

As a consequence of the UK leaving the Single Market and Customs Union, the way businesses in Great Britain trade goods with the EU has changed. To export goods to the EU your business now needs to comply with new customs procedures, including UK export declarations and import requirements on entry to EU Member States.

New checks for all goods coming in and out of the UK have been expected since the Brexit trade deal and with many already operating, there are lots more changes expected over 2023 and 2024, such as; the introduction of the Border Target Operating Model and the Windsor Framework. 

Overview

• UK Border Target Operating Model
• The Windsor Framework - Moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland
• Basic documents and data required
• Main customs procedures to be considered
• Useful Links and Resources 

Download

UK Border Target Operating Model

On 29 August 2023, the UK Government published a new Border Target Operating Model, setting out a new approach to importing into the UK that is expected to be progressively introduced throughout 2024.

The  Border  Target  Operating  Model  proposes  a  new  approach  to  security  controls  (applying  to  all  imports),  and  Sanitary  and  Phytosanitary  controls  (applying  to  imports  of  live  animals,  germinal  products,  animal  products,  plants  and plant  products)  at  the  border.  It  sets  out  how  controls  will  be  delivered  through  simplification, digitization and the UK’s new Single Trade Window.

After considering the feedback raised by stakeholders on implementation challenges, the UK Government has altered the timeline originally proposed, to give businesses and their supply-chains the time they need to prepare.

Key dates for implementation are as follows

• 31 January 2024 - Export health certificates and phytosanitary certificates are introduced for medium risk animal products, plants and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU & EFTA countries including Irish goods, as well as non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods. Introduction of pre-notification for non-qualifying Northern Ireland and Ireland origin animal products, plant and plant products.
   
• 30 April 2024 - Documentary checks and physical identity checks at the border are introduced for medium risk animal products, plant and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU & EFTA countries (excluding those goods being imported from the Republic of Ireland). Existing inspections of high-risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from destination to Border Control Posts. 
  Simplification of imports from non-EU countries will start. This will include the removal of health certification and routine checks on low-risk animal products, plants, plant products from non-EU countries as well as reduction in physical and identity check levels on medium-risk animal products from non-EU countries. Pre-notification will no longer be required for low-risk plants and plant products.
   
• 31 October 2024 - Safety and Security declarations for EU imports will come into force. 
   
• From 31 October 2024 - The introduction of documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU on the west coast of Great Britain. (The date for the commencement of physical checks for non-qualifying goods moving from the island of Ireland will be confirmed in Autumn 2023.)

Download

Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-border-target-operating-model-august-2023

The Windsor Framework - Moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland

A new agreement  - The Windsor Framework - aimed at addressing post-Brexit issues in Northern Ireland was revealed by the UK Government and the European Commission in February 2023.

It delivers free-flowing trade in goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by removing any sense of the border in the Irish Sea for goods staying within the UK. These goods will travel as normal through a new green lane without red tape or unnecessary checks, with the only checks remaining designed to prevent smuggling or crime.

The agreement protects Northern Ireland, replacing swathes of EU laws with UK laws and ensuring the people of Northern Ireland can benefit from the same tax policies, food and drink, medicines, and parcels as the rest of the UK.
 

What impact will the Windsor Framework have?

Under the new plan, goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain will go into a new “green line” and will require less paperwork. Meanwhile, goods destined for Ireland and the EU will go to the “red line” where checks will be carried out. 

This Framework means that businesses moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, will: 

• avoid extensive and costly certification and assurance processes
• be able to move products that meet UK public health, organics and fisheries rules
• access the duty reimbursement scheme
• access an improved Customs Duty Waiver Scheme
• have continued access to the free Trader Support Service 

Key dates for implementation are as follows

• 30 September 2023 - a new UK Internal Market Scheme will expand the range of businesses able to benefit from the new arrangements provided to protect internal UK movements, including the removal of EU tariffs. In tandem, the new sanitary and phytosanitary “green lane” arrangements will take effect: including a new Retail Movement Scheme for agrifood retail products; new rules to allow plants to move smoothly in to Northern Ireland; and new arrangements to enable seed potatoes to move once again from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
• September 2024 - the full “green lane” will take effect for the movement of all goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, expanding the benefits of the UK Internal Market Scheme to end unnecessary bureaucracy. This will ensure that goods will no longer move on the basis of international customs requirements, with a new system based on commercial information. New arrangements will also come into effect for the movement of parcels between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with a new set of data-sharing requirements put in place to ensure that customs declarations are not needed for deliveries to consumers.
• 2025 - new arrangements for the supply of medicines into Northern Ireland will take effect, ensuring that medicines available in Northern Ireland are those approved by UK authorities, enabling a single license and a single pack for medicines right across the United Kingdom.

Download

cargo-partner provides in-depth expertise in air, sea, road and rail transport as well as comprehensive knowledge in export and import customs clearance. We can offer you a complete service package connecting the EU and the UK in this new environment, with a single billing solution.

Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-windsor-framework

Basic documents and data required

Document accuracy and efficient information flow are key to ensuring that goods move freely across borders. The following basic documents and data are required for export or import customs clearance:

1. A full and complete commercial invoice containing
   • Consignor details including EORI number
   • Consignee details including EORI number
   • Incoterms
   • HS commodity codes (EU/UK)
   • Product description
   • Value of goods (including number, currency, items, weight and dimensions)
   • Origin of goods
   • Number of packaging units and gross/net weight of cargo
2. Packing list, if available
3. Additional certificates (EHS, phyto, etc.), if required
4. Contact details of consignee and nominated customs broker, if available

Please feel free to email us your commercial paperwork and we will be happy to review it and provide feedback in due course.

Main customs procedures to be considered

Useful Links and Resources 

Imports and Exports: general enquiries (LINK @gov.uk)
Guidance for exporting and importing businesses (LINK @gov.uk)
Trade Tariff: look up commodity codes, duty and VAT rates (LINK @gov.uk)
Get an EORI number (LINK @gov.uk)