Important information from HMRC

The Government has said that the UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October whatever the circumstances. Irrespective of current political wrangling, HMRC has begun to issue information that every business will need if they trade in the EU.

Leaving the EU without a deal means there will be immediate changes to the way UK businesses trade with the EU that may impact your business.

• UK businesses will have to apply customs, excise and VAT processes to goods sold into the EU (these are the same rules that already apply for goods and services traded outside of the EU).
• Trading partners in the EU will have to apply customs, excise and VAT processes to trade they carry out with you, in the same way that they do for goods and services traded from outside of the EU.

HMRC is helping businesses get ready for Brexit by automatically issuing them with a UK EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) number. They have written to more than 88,000 VAT registered companies to let them know the UK EORI number they’ve been assigned. Businesses will not be able to move goods in and out of the UK without one.

If your business is not VAT-registered, you will still need to apply now for a UK EORI. HMRC cannot give you this automatically.

You can check the next steps you need to take to ensure that your business is ready for Brexit using our trader checklist.