Business, Freight News, Logistics

FTA welcomes customs Brexit waiver

[ February 19, 2019   //   Chris ]

The Freight Transport Association has welcomed an announcement by HMRC that it will temporarily waive security and safety declarations for post-Brexit logistics movements.
It followed a meeting on 18 February between HMRC officials and industry groups which confirmed that, from 29 March, the status quo will be temporarily maintained and hauliers will not need to submit Entry Summary Declarations on imports for six months.
The new rules only apply to goods coming from the EU, and will apply to carriers – importers will still have to submit import declarations for customs purposes – which are not the same as Entry Summary Declarations although these will be subject to the Transitional Simplified Procedures announced on 4 February 2019.
After the six-month transitional period, carriers will be legally responsible for ensuring Entry Summary Declarations are submitted pre-arrival to HMRC.
FTA said the move was in response to its campaigning over the past two years, and would help to minimise disruption to trade between the UK and EU and integrated supply chains after Brexit.
However, FTA added that it was imperative that the UK government maintains pressure on the EU to ensure that a similar waiver is adopted by the EU. It was also vital for the European Commission and UK to agree a longer term, more sustainable arrangement to remain in the same security zone, which would make safety and security declarations for UK-EU trade irrelevant.

Tags: FTA; Brexit