The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that HMRC have begun to allocate EORI (economic operator registration and identification) numbers to more than 88,000 VAT registered businesses to allow those businesses to continue to trade with the EU after Brexit. Chartered Accountants Ireland has been advising businesses of the importance of applying for an EORI number for some time now as part of the actions business should be taking to prepare for Brexit.

The EORI is a unique ID number allocated to businesses to enable 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 should have started arriving towards the end of August.

Updated guidance on importing for UK businesses who move goods from Ireland to Northern Ireland in a no-deal Brexit has also been published.

Subsequent to the Chancellor’s announcement, HMRC issued the following update on Brexit:-

“The Government has said that the UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October whatever the circumstances.

Leaving the EU without a deal means there will be immediate changes to the way UK businesses trade with the EU that may impact your business.

• UK businesses will have to apply customs, excise and VAT processes to goods sold into the EU (these are the same rules that already apply for goods and services traded outside of the EU).
• Trading partners in the EU will have to apply customs, excise and VAT processes to trade they carry out with you, in the same way that they do for goods and services traded from outside of the EU.

HMRC is helping businesses get ready for Brexit by automatically issuing them with a UK EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) number. We have written to more than 88,000 VAT registered companies to let them know the UK EORI number they’ve been assigned. Businesses will not be able to move goods in and out of the UK without one.

If your business is not VAT-registered, you will still need to apply now for a UK EORI. HMRC cannot give you this automatically.

You can check the next steps you need to take to ensure that your business is ready for Brexit using our trader checklist.

We will continue to provide you with the latest guidance and support to help you prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU.”