In the fourth and final article on the impact of Brexit on audit and accounting, David Duvall MA FCA, Susan Singleton LLB and Fawn Beddows examine some of the key changes that will affect businesses trading in the EU market from 1 January 2021
Importing and exporting
The European Commission’s ‘Brexit Readiness Checklist’ says that from 1 January 2021, UK businesses that currently buy goods from EU countries and sell them in the UK will become importers, while those that currently distribute products to the EU will become exporters. This means that they will need to comply with a new set of obligations according to the applicable EU rules.
Customs rules required under EU law will apply to all goods entering the customs territory of the EU from the UK, or leaving that customs territory to the UK. Even if a free trade area is agreed between the EU and the UK, providing for zero tariffs and zero quotas on goods, and with customs and regulatory cooperation, all products traded between the EU and the UK will be subject to any applicable regulatory compliance checks and controls on imports for safety, health and other public policy purposes.
