BREXIT: British customs ready for a hard Brexit as of January 1, 2021

The UK Customs Administration has provided several pieces of information in relation to the next stage of Brexit on 1 January 2021:

  • Publication of a list of customs agents and fast parcel operators entitled to make customs declarations as of 1 January 2021;
  • Setting up of a new platform to find out the future customs tariffs as from 1 January 2021. This instrument also allows economic operators to compare the evolution of the rates of customs duties between Member States.
  • Provision of guarantees to economic operators in Northern Ireland as to the special status of that territory within the UK internal market. No customs import declaration for the goods and no entry declaration (“safety and security”) will be provided as the goods enter the UK from Northern Ireland.
  • No customs controls and duties will be applied to Northern Ireland goods entering the rest of the UK. No additional regulatory control or subsequent approval will be required for the release of goods leaving Northern Ireland for the rest of the UK market.

Our analysis:

The UK Government provides a wide range of assistance for Northern Irish economic operators and the accompanying customs declarations for UK importers and exporters is an excellent initiative.

However, this facility is a priori reserved solely for British operators. European operators are therefore discriminated against. But the negotiations are not yet over…

***

The Customs department and the ANGB desk of DS Avocats are at your disposal for any further analysis.