New Trade Rules – Advice from Her Majesty's Government

New Trade Rules
As the UK has left the European Union (EU), customs declarations are required for all imports and exports between Great Britain and the EU. You may also have to pay customs duty and continue to pay other taxes like import VAT.

We appreciate businesses are making real efforts to get to grips with these new rules and we know it is challenging. That’s why we’re continuing to write to you on a regular basis, to support you with the steps you need to take to carry on trading with the EU.

In this email we’re sharing a letter that we’re sending to all customers based in Great Britain who trade with the EU focusing on how to make import and export customs declarations.

The key reminders are:

• if you are an exporter, you already need to make export declarations at the time you export your goods
• if you are importing controlled goods such as alcohol or tobacco, you also must make a full import declaration straight away when you import your goods
• if you are importing non-controlled goods from the EU in 2021 you have two choices, either make a full customs declaration as the goods arrive into Great Britain or delay your declarations
• if you chose to delay, you or the customs expert you hired to act for you, (such as a customs agent or freight forwarder) will have kept detailed records (known as an Entry in Declarants Records or EIDR) when you imported goods, and you (or the customs expert) will also need to make a supplementary declaration within 175 days of the date your goods arrived in Great Britain.

Support and guidance for businesses
We have a range of customer support, online guidance and tutorials available to help you adapt to new rules for trading with the EU. Here’s some of the support that’s available for you:

YouTube videos
Watch our short videos on HMRC's YouTube channel to familiarise yourself with customs processes and what you need to do before trading goods with the EU.

Live webinars
We’re delivering daily webinars including:

• Customs import declarations: an overview
• Exporting: what you need to do to keep your goods moving
• Importing: what you need to know about staged controls
• Trader responsibilities when using an intermediary.

If you’d like to attend a webinar you can register here.

Check out our forums
To ask and get answers to specific questions about HMRC processes for importing or exporting, please visit our customer forums.

Give us a call
Our customer service advisors are available to answer your queries on the Customs and International Trade helpline. They’ll help you with importing, exporting and customs reliefs. The helpline is open from 8‌‌‌am to 10‌‌‌‌pm‌‌ ‌Mon‌‌day‌ to‌‌‌ Fri‌‌day and fr‌‌om 8‌‌‌‌am‌‌ ‌to‌‌ ‌4‌‌‌‌pm at wee‌‌ke‌‌nds.
Call to speak to an advisor on 03‌‌00‌‌‌ 322‌‌ ‌94‌‌34.

We will continue to provide guidance and support to help you and your business through these regular emails.