Policy & Compliance
• HMRC estimated in 2019 that the total annual cost to UK businesses of completing Customs entries for trade between the UK and EU amounted to £7.5 billion per annum. (This figure has not been updated.) • Excluding shipments to Northern Ireland, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) issued 316,000 Export Health Certificates. • DEFRA estimated that the annual cost to traders of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) controls it introduced for EU imports between January 2021 and December 2023 totalled £54 million. Following the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), the government estimates the annual cost of SPS and Safety and Security Declarations to business at £469 million. The NAO notes that by 31 October 2024, most import controls, including Customs checks, SPS controls and Safety and Security Declarations will have been introduced. Further checks After October 2024 it is planned to phase-in the introduction of SPS checks of goods arriving from the island of Ireland. For live animals and medium risk fruit and vegetables arriving from the EU, it is planned to phase-in SPS checks, although there is no clear date for having the full regime in place. The report examines how the last elements of border controls will be implemented, including via the Single Trade Window (STW). Whilst introducing the STW has obvious advantages, such as re-using data and improving messaging flows, the NAO has concerns regarding certain aspects of the project that will need Since that day in 2016, much has changed and the sector has had to cope with other significant developments such as the implementation of CDS, the pandemic and significant global political and military events. It needs to be remembered that what is good for the freight forwarding sector is usually good for the wider economy – and in all probability it to be resolved to ensure its successful implementation. needs a period during which change is kept to a minimum.
The port of Larne in Northern Ireland
Implementing an effective trade border
S hortly before the general issued a cross-government report on progress in implementing border controls and, in particular, the impact of Customs and phyto- sanitary controls. The report is quite detailed, looking at the cost, the implementation process, future risks, challenges and opportunities. When the result of the EU Exit election was announced, the National Audit Of fi ce (NAO) A National Audit Of fi ce report notes that the implementation of full border controls is not complete and that regulating trade between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland has added complexity and delay “ HMRC estimated in
freight forwarders. The report notes that the implementation of full border controls is not complete and that regulating trade between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland has added complexity and delay. Programme costs Relevant statistics impacting trade are detailed, although these are probably considerably less than anticipated. It is forecast that the government will spend £4.7 billion on the 13 most significant programmes to manage the passage of goods across the border. In 2022, 39 million additional Customs entries were completed to allow goods to move in both directions between the UK and the EU. Traders have faced additional administrative costs incurred for moving goods in either direction across the UK-EU frontier since the UK departed from the EU. These include:
2019 that the total annual cost to UK businesses of completing Customs entries for trade between the UK and EU amounted to £7.5 billion per annum
referendum was announced in June 2016, the writer remembered thinking that whatever the politicians stated, it was clear that it would take at least 10 years to implement all the necessary systems to maintain an effective border. The NAO report makes interesting reading and many freight forwarders, truck operators and Customs agents will identify with much of its contents. In fact, one BIFA staff member commented that it could have been written by a freight forwarder for
8 | July 2024
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