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Home ◇ Business Q&A ◇ Changes in Export Trade to the UK After Brexit - Four Things You Must Know
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Changes in Export Trade to the UK After Brexit - Four Things You Must Know
Source: | Author:Xi'an Echo International | Published time: 1644 days ago | 2103 Views | Share:
Since Britain's formal Brexit on January 1, 2021, there have been some major changes in export trade to the UK involving issues such as certification, customs clearance, and tax payment. Please pay attention!
Since Britain's formal Brexit on January 1, 2021, there have been some major changes in export trade to the UK involving issues such as certification, customs clearance, and tax payment. Please pay attention!


1. Certification Issues


The United Kingdom officially began to use the United Kingdom Conformity Assessment (UKCA) certification mark on January 1. The UKCA mark is a new British product mark that will be used for products sold in the UK (England, Wales and Scotland) market, covering most of the goods that previously required CE marking. The UKCA mark does not apply to goods sold on the Northern Irish market.


After the UKCA mark is implemented, products that originally only require CE certification will require CE and UKCA certification for export to the European Union and the United Kingdom, which may have a significant impact on the company's product costs.


Regarding the UKCA mark, the company must ensure that the UKCA mark is clearly visible (it must be permanently attached from January 1, 2023). In most cases, companies must use the UKCA mark on the product itself or packaging (the product must be affixed). In some cases, it may be placed in a manual or other supporting literature. This will vary according to the specific regulations applicable to the product. The UKCA mark cannot be placed on the product (products that should not be affixed, such as cosmetics), unless there are specific regulations or laws that make such a requirement in the legislation.


2. Customs Clearance Issues


Under the original EU unified customs system, goods entering and leaving the EU do not need to undergo repeated customs clearance and taxation procedures. After Brexit, there will be an independent customs operation system between the United Kingdom and the European Union, and the customs clearance procedures for goods passing through both parties will be much more complicated than before.


The shipping company ONE has issued an announcement regarding the precautions for the security declaration related to Brexit: For all goods imported and exported to the UK and transited through the UK, an entry summary (ENS) must be sent. For goods boarding in the UK, ENS must be sent 48 hours before the ship approaches. At present, the British Customs has established a safety and security (S&S) platform for receiving ENS information. From January 1, 2021, the British Customs will continue to require ENS declarations for all goods from outside the EU that are unloaded and transshipped at British ports. From July 1, 2021, goods departing from within the EU to the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) need to enforce the ENS declaration.


In addition, after Brexit, the UK (GB) EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification Number) will become invalid in the EU. Many sellers used to be an EORI starting with GB to solve the customs clearance problem throughout Europe. The EORI number of EU countries is universal and unique, so if you only applied for the UK EORI number before, you need to apply for another EORI number in the EU countries (France, Italy, West, Germany, etc.).


3. Tax Payment Issues


With the Brexit, starting from January 1, 2021, the UK and EU's VAT regulations on imported goods and certain goods within the EU that meet certain conditions have changed. The UK market will implement a new set of VAT regulations to ensure that goods from outside the UK bear the same value-added tax as goods already in the UK.

Recently, Amazon has also issued a notice on “Free registration of EORI and VAT in the UK/EU using platform value-added tax services”:


From January 1, 2021, a customs border will be established between the United Kingdom and the European Union, which will affect companies doing business across the border. Starting from January 1, 2021, you will need to obtain both the UK and EU EORI numbers (Economic Operator Registration and Identification Number) in order to ship inventory into or out of the UK and EU countries/regions. One EU EORI number is sufficient for all EU countries.


In order to support your business in the UK and the EU, we promise to provide one year of Amazon VAT service for free. With the help of a VAT compliance solution, you can manage your European VAT registration and reporting obligations through a third-party tax service provider. Amazon VAT Services can handle your registration in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic. You can also get EORI numbers for the UK and EU for free.


* Free EORI services are provided by your tax service provider. Your tax service provider will also determine the corresponding EU country to apply for an EU EORI number.


4. After-sales Issues


The new EU regulation "Market Supervision and Commodity Compliance Regulations" will come into effect on July 16, 2021. This new regulation requires that products with the CE mark need to have personnel located in the EU as the product compliance contact (below Called the "person in charge"). At that time, products with CE certification need to have corresponding product marks and contact information of the responsible person in the EU. In addition, in connection with Brexit, from January 1, 2021, the EU representative/after-sales service address is no longer applicable to the UK market. In the UK market, it must be a “UK representative” instead of an “EU representative”.