The Spring Budget’s main publication also featured an overview of a range of proposals designed to simplify customs import and export processes with more detail set out in an accompanying policy paper from which our analysis below is derived. Detail of changes to customs guarantees for special procedures, temporary storage and duty deferment and modernising authorisations also feature in the policy paper. The policy paper also sets out a detailed stakeholder engagement timeline as the government plans to engage with stakeholders on each of these measures in the coming months. The timetable for this engagement also takes into account the existing systems changes, for example the final phase of the transition to the Customs Declaration Service for exports by 30 November 2023, and the first strategic release of the UK Single Trade Window. This is to ensure there is sufficient lead in time for stakeholders to adapt their own systems ahead of any policy changes coming into force. The government also intends to  consult in summer 2023 on introducing a voluntary standard for customs intermediaries, with the aim of improving the overall quality of service provided across the sector. According to the government, this is in response to feedback received as part of the “2022 Call for Evidence: An Independent Customs Regime”, which indicated that “quality varies across the customs intermediary market”. Simplified Customs Declaration Process (“SCDP”) changes A series of policy improvements will be implemented to the SCDP. These are:- increasing the amount of time traders have to submit their supplementary declaration for imports and exports (in the case of exports where it relates to more than one consignment of goods) from the fourth working day of the month to the 10th calendar day of the month; increasing the amount of time traders have to submit their final supplementary declarations from the fourth working day of the month to the 11th calendar day of the month; and allowing traders to submit one supplementary declaration for goods imported over the course of a month (known as aggregation), reducing the total number of declarations that have to be submitted. The government will work with stakeholders separately to set out the timeframes for delivery. Simplifying customs declarations review The government is also reviewing opportunities to streamline customs declaration requirements and will engage stakeholders later in the year to support this work. The review will cover both simplified and standard customs declarations, for both imports and exports and will have a particular focus on export declarations, and on ensuring that customs declarations do not impose disproportionate burdens on small and less experienced UK businesses. Transit policy simplifications In summer 2023, the government will engage on various simplifications to the transit regime, including proposed changes to make it easier for businesses to access a guarantee waiver and to start and end transit movements at their own premises. These measures are intended to improve processes for both outbound and inbound movements and to improve the offer to authorised consignee/consignors. Proposals under development are split as follows between outbound and inbound movements: For outbound movements: making it easier for authorised consignors to start a movement at a client’s premises by replacing the current paper-based approval process with a digital notification process; reducing costs for authorised consignors by making a 100 percent guarantee waiver the default position during the authorisation process and signposting applicants to possibility of operating without a financial guarantee in place; and clarifying how authorised consignors can start a transit movement from their (or their client’s) premises when exporting goods from standard export ports. For inbound movements: modernising the unloading process for authorised consignees; and clarifying how to end a transit movement when loading goods on ships, trains and planes that are destined for their stores, and simplifying the export declaration requirements in these cases. Engagement with industry on these proposals will take place in summer 2023.

In this week’s EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant to EU exit. We also update you on recent developments in relation to the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland. And the latest Trader Support Service bulletin is available. Update on the Protocol On Wednesday last week, the House of Commons voted on the draft Stormont Brake Statutory Instrument for the Windsor Framework after a debate in Parliament. MPs voted overall by a large majority to approve the Stormont brake, viewed as an overall vote on the Windsor Framework, with 515 in favour and 29 against.  On the EU side, the EU formally adopted the required legislative parts of the Windsor Framework in a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council which took place on Tuesday this week.   In order to translate the Windsor Framework into law, this required the UK and the EU to adopt decisions in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. A meeting took place in London on Friday 24 March, of the Joint Committee at which it the agreement was formally adopted. In other developments, last week the House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland opened a Call for Evidence into the Windsor Framework and will be accepting evidence until Tuesday 2 May 2023. The House of Commons Library also published a research briefing into the framework. Miscellaneous updated guidance etc. The latest guidance updates, and publications relevant to EU exit are as follows:- Check simplified procedure value rates for fresh fruit and vegetables; Authorised Consignee Temporary Storage (ACTS) location codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service; Internal temporary storage facilities (ITSFs) codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service; Customs Importer and Exporter Population 2022; Data Element 2/3: Document and Other Reference Codes: Licence Types – Imports and Exports of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS); Receive goods into and remove goods from an excise warehouse (Excise Notice 197); External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service; and Maritime ports and wharves location codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service.

In this week’s EU exit bulletin, we focus on recent developments in relation to the Protocol and specifically the Windsor Framework. On Wednesday this week, the House of Commons voted on the draft Stormont Brake Statutory Instrument for the Windsor Framework after a debate in Parliament. MPs voted overall by a large majority to approve the Stormont brake, viewed as an overall vote on the Windsor Framework, with 515 in favour and 29 against.  On the EU side, the EU formally adopted the required legislative parts of the Windsor Framework in a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council which took place on Tuesday this week. Last week, the European Parliament debated the Windsor Framework. In order to translate the Windsor Framework into law, this requires the UK and the EU to adopt decisions in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. A meeting in London is scheduled for today, Friday 24 March, of the Joint Committee at which it is expected that the agreement will be formally adopted.

On Wednesday this week, the House of Commons will vote on the agreement in principle between the UK and the EU. On the EU side, reports suggest that the EU may formally adopt the required legislative parts of the Windsor Framework by tomorrow, Tuesday 21 March, when the next meeting of the EU General Affairs Council takes place. Last week, the European Parliament debated the Windsor Framework.   In order to translate the Windsor Framework into law, this requires the UK and the EU to adopt decisions in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. On the EU side, the EU will be required to change certain rules, for example on the movement of retail goods. The original Protocol will also be revised in several aspects including to add the so-called Stormont Brake. 

In this week’s EU exit bulletin, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant to EU exit. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available and HMRC has sent an email about the impact of industrial action on 15 March on goods movements. Miscellaneous updated guidance etc. The latest guidance updates, and publications relevant to EU exit are as follows:- Apply for a certificate confirming an employee pays UK National Insurance when working abroad (CA3822); Check simplified procedure value rates for fresh fruit and vegetables; High risk food and feed of non-animal origin (HRFNAO): official certificates; Apply for approval to be part of the Registered Consignee scheme in Northern Ireland; Apply for approval to be a tax representative in Northern Ireland; Apply for an Advance Origin Ruling; External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service; Notices made and draft notices to be made under the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018; Data Element 2/3 Documents and Other Reference Codes (National) of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS); Customs Declaration Service communication pack; External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service; Authorised Consignee Temporary Storage (ACTS) location codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service; and Manually arrive your goods in the UK.    

Last week, we reported on strand one of the UK and EU’s agreement in principle, as set out in the UK’s Windsor Framework Command Paper. This week, we take a closer look at strand two. More details on strand two are available in paragraphs 28-55 of the Windsor Framework and EU publications. MPs are expected to vote on the agreement by the end of the month. Strand two of the agreement is essentially designed to deal with trade disruption and the difference in treatment of Northern Ireland in certain areas. It also sets out a range of measures on how the agreement supports the UK internal market in the long term but also how it protects the EU market in this new framework. Strand two also includes measures on taxation which will be implemented via changes to Annex 3 of the Protocol so that Northern Ireland can benefit from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as apply in the rest of the UK. More information on these was set out in the Tax and Excise changes section of our story last week. In respect of reduced availability of certain goods, and difference in treatment to the rest of the UK in areas such as access to medicines, the movement of people with their pets, and the ability to buy plants and seeds from GB at local garden centres, the key measures are as follows:- Medicines Under the agreement, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) will approve all drugs for the whole UK market. This should enable all types of medicines to be supplied in single packs, within UK supply chains, with a single licence for the whole UK. Specifically, the whole of the Falsified Medicines Directive will be disapplied for medicines supplied to Northern Ireland, ending the requirement for wholesalers and pharmacies in Northern Ireland to keep barcode scanners to check individual labels. For the provision of innovative drugs to patients, Northern Ireland will be reintegrated back into a UK-only regulatory environment, with the European Medicines Agency removed from having any role. Plants, seeds, machinery and trees The Protocol put a series of certification requirements, checks and prohibitions in place for plants and plant products. As a result of the agreement, plants and seeds staying in Northern Ireland will move from Great Britain on a virtually identical basis to those moving elsewhere within the UK. Instead of full EU certification, all plants and seeds will move under the existing UK-wide plant passport scheme, in line with traders throughout the UK meaning growers and businesses can pay £120 a year to be part of the UK scheme instead of £150 per movement. Previously banned seed potatoes will be available from other parts of the UK. Bans on 11 native British and other plant species will be removed by the next planting season. Certification requirements for used agricultural and forestry machinery will be removed with the only requirement now being a single, self-applied label to indicate the machinery will not move into the EU. Subsidy control Under the original Protocol, EU state aid rules apply in cases where there is any aid provided to companies that could 'affect trade' in goods and electricity between Northern Ireland and the EU. Due to concerns that this was resulting in so called ‘chilling effects’ on businesses or public authorities ultimately leading to discouraging investment or causing reduced trade with Northern Ireland, the agreement provides for additional constraints which are designed to limit the circumstances in which the initial concept of the original Protocol applies to subsidies. This is to be achieved by imposing a stringent set of tests to ensure that there must be a proven real, genuine and material link to Northern Ireland’s trade with the EU for any proposed aid to even be in scope and aims to rule out all but the largest subsidies and those where firms have no material presence in the Northern Ireland market. Overall, this seeks to keep the majority of subsidies to companies in Great Britain solely under the UK’s own subsidy control regime. For those cases where it does apply, in practice there will remain a host of exemptions which allow aid to be granted without any need for notification or approval. Important flexibilities available to traders in Northern Ireland are also to be retained including agricultural subsidy arrangements where Northern Ireland is fully outside the Common Agricultural Policy. Any restored Northern Ireland Executive will have the capacity to design schemes that work best for Northern Ireland subject only to basic World Trade Organisation rules.  Pets The agreement removes processes for pet movements into Northern Ireland allowing pet movements to continue. For Northern Ireland pet owners, there will be no new requirements of any kind. Northern Ireland pet owners will continue to be able to move their pet to Ireland and the rest of the EU with an EU pet passport. For pet owners visiting Northern Ireland from Great Britain but not travelling on to Ireland, the only requirement will be to confirm that the pet is microchipped and will not move into the EU (where the same certificate and health requirements will remain). The operation of checks North-South on the island of Ireland operate on a risk and intelligence-led basis. Veterinary medicines The original Protocol required a range of authorisations and movement conditions for veterinary medicines entering Northern Ireland. A grace period arrangement is now in place until the end of 2025 which enables veterinary medicines authorised or approved in the UK, or which are moved via Great Britain, to continue to be placed on the market in Northern Ireland.