Last month HMRC published a questionnaire to enable businesses to tell them that they will be impacted by Northern Ireland goods movements post Brexit. HMRC has also published details of new measures to support customs intermediaries.

This follows the UK government’s announcement that the transition period will end as planned on 31 December 2020, however controls for importing goods will not apply until July 2021. Overall, border controls for EU goods imported into the UK will be introduced from 1 January 2021 in stages to give businesses affected by coronavirus more time to prepare.

HMRC has also unveiled a new package of measures to accelerate growth of the UK’s customs intermediary sector. An additional £50 million is being provided to support businesses with recruitment, training and supplying IT equipment to handle customs declarations. The Government also intends to remove barriers for intermediaries taking on extra clients by adapting the rules around financial liability. Applications for the new funding will be open from July and HMRC will unveil more details in due course.