We have just passed the one year anniversary of Brexit, when the UK left the European Union. The UK left the Brexit standstill transition period on its expiry on Friday 1 January 2021. The terms of the new EU-UK trading arrangements – in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) – took effect the same day. In accordance with this, the EU decided to introduce full border controls on GB goods from Friday 1 January 2021. The UK government decided to defer the implementation of inbound GB border controls in respect of EU goods. That deferment period ended on 31 December 2021 and Customs and Border controls on EU goods came into effect on Saturday 1 January 2022. Commenting on the border changes, Nova Fairbank, Chief Operating Officer for Norfolk Chambers said: “The cost of importing and exporting has increased considerably since Brexit in January 2021. We have also seen a reduction in the volume of import and exports between the UK and the EU. The Norfolk business community have persevered and in the main, managed to get a handle on the requirements for importing and exporting their goods between the UK and the EU. However, the last 12 months have been a transition period where goods could be sent and the paperwork completed afterwards, but as of 01 January 2022, there has been a significant tightening of the rules and some very important changes. “When moving goods from the EU to the UK – you need to have completed the paperwork before the goods arrive at the UK border and there have been approx. 351 tariff amendments, so you need to double-check your commodity codes. There is also a new Goods Vehicle Movement System introduced and EU customers and suppliers will need to register for the UK database IPAFFS to pre-notify on plant and products of animal origin. It is vitally important that businesses understand the forthcoming changes and implement them correctly to avoid incurring delays and to enable their goods to be imported and exported across the GB/EU borders smoothly. Click here to view the business checklist for the GB/EU border changes in 2022. Photo credit: Getty Images/ Chamber Canva Pro 2022
