Chancellor accelerates Brexit preparations for businesses

HMRC is stepping up efforts to ensure businesses are ready to trade post-Brexit by automatically enrolling companies in an important customs system and doubling the numbers registered, the Chancellor has announced.

More than 88,000 VAT registered companies across the UK will be allocated an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number in the next two weeks in order to keep trading with customers and suppliers in the EU after the UK has left.

72,000 companies have already registered for EORI numbers. With Brexit preparations accelerated under the new government, ministers are taking decisive action to speed up the rollout of the scheme to help ensure the smooth transit of goods.

EORI numbers are a unique ID number allocated to businesses that enables them to be identified by Customs authorities when doing business with other traders.

If businesses do not have an EORI number post-Brexit, they will be unable to continue to trade with EU Member States.

Letters informing businesses of automatically allocated EORI numbers will start arriving today as the Government steps up efforts to ensure the UK is ready for Brexit.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said: “As the government accelerates its preparation to leave the EU on 31st October, it’s right businesses are prepared too.

“There can be no time for delay which is why HMRC has allocated thousands of businesses with a trading number to ensure they can continue to trade their goods through Europe from day one. This will help ease the flow of goods at border points and support businesses to trade and grow.”

The Chancellor has been determined to grip Brexit preparations, allocating an extra £2.1 billion for government departments last month to prepare for no deal, doubling Brexit funding for this year.

As part of the cash injection, border and customs operations will receive an additional £344m to be ready for Brexit, including by hiring more border officers, doubling the support available for customs agents, and improving transport infrastructure around ports.

Additional information:

If a business is not VAT-registered, it will still need to register for an EORI number. Information on how to register can be found here

Getting an EORI number is one of the steps that businesses need to action urgently to be prepared for leaving the EU

After getting an EORI number, businesses will need to decide whether to complete customs declarations themselves, or employ a customs agent to do this. As part of the £2.1bn announced on 31 July, we are doubling the support made available for customs agents to train new staff or invest in better IT so businesses can get the support they need to complete customs declarations. If employing a customs agent, businesses will need to supply their EORI number. Information to inform this decision can be found here

Traders also need to decide whether to apply for Transitional Simplified Procedures to make it easier to import goods from the EU. Find out how to register here

Letters to businesses containing their assigned EORI number will arrive within two weeks

If businesses have been issued a UK EORI number by HMRC and then apply online, they will receive a message to say that they already have one

HMRC advises businesses to contact HMRC if they are unsure. HMRC will be able to confirm whether a number has been assigned