HMRC has automatically registered many businesses to use simplified import procedures should the UK leave the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019.
The scheme, called the Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) will make importing from the EU bloc much easier, especially for businesses completing customs processes for the first time. The TSP will allow most businesses to transport goods from the EU into the UK without having to make a full customs declaration at the border and to postpone paying any import duties. In most cases, businesses will have up to 6 months to delay paying import duties and submit customs declarations. The use of the TSP will be optional.
Over 30,000 businesses had registered to use the scheme since it was launched. HMRC has now automatically enrolled 95,000 VAT-registered businesses that imported goods from the EU in 2018 into the TSP scheme. This should help speed-up the process of preparing for a no-deal Brexit and minimising some of the expected issues at UK borders. Businesses that are not registered for VAT and would benefit from the scheme need to register directly with HMRC.