On 1 January 2022, a new phase of Brexit is expected to take effect, and with this, full customs controls will come to apply when importing and exporting goods to and from the UK. Learn what you should be particularly aware of in connection with the upcoming change and how to best prepare your business for it.

Almost a year has passed since the Brexit transition period ended and the United Kingdom officially left the EU.

During this first year of Brexit, there has been an easing in period which has allowed businesses to delay the full customs clearance on import of non-controlled goods to the UK to make the transition to Brexit progress more smoothly. However, on 1 January 2022, the second phase of Brexit is expected to take effect, meaning that full customs controls will be implemented and a new border operating model will be introduced.

How to prepare for phase two

At DSV, we have undertaken a number of measures to ensure that we are prepared for the changes that will expectedly take effect on 1 January:

“Over the course of 2021, we have changed our customs processes for much of the cargo we transport for our customers so that they already adhere to new requirements. For this reason, we are well-prepared to accommodate the full customs controls from 1 January 2022,” explains Jesper Hansen, Executive Vice President and part of the DSV Brexit Project Board.

Right now, we cannot predict exactly what the consequences will be as we enter phase two of Brexit. However, Jesper Hansen expects that the upcoming transition will have a smaller impact on the market than the previous one did:

“I don’t expect that we will see the same consequences of Brexit as the ones we faced in Q1 and Q2 of 2021, but the changes from 1 January will for sure put more pressure on the border crossing and the border facilities, particularly on the English Channel.”

To make the upcoming transition to the second phase of Brexit progress as smoothly as possible, we provide our customers with the following pieces of advice:

• First of all, it is important to prepare all appropriate documentation before the cargo leaves the EU to ensure to minimise delays or negative impacts to agreed transit times
• It is also important to ensure that the receiving importer of record in the UK has already made provisional arrangements for import customs clearance instruction and has completed a Power of Attorney (POA) direct authorisation before entry into the UK
• Finally, it is important that the EU suppliers’ commercial invoices contain the Registered Exporter System (REX) statement

Understand the upcoming changes

From 1 January 2022, it is expected that the current extraordinary, simplified procedures for delaying full customs clearance on import of non-controlled goods to UK will no longer be available. Only businesses with Customs Freight Simplified Procedure (CFSP) approval from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be still able to delay their customs clearance.

Therefore, the updated border operating model, which will apply as of 1 January 2022, is based on three operating processes:

• The traditional temporary storage model, where goods coming into Great Britain can be stored at the frontier for up to 90 days before being declared to customs.
• The pre-lodgement model, where goods arriving will be required to have submitted a customs declaration in advance of boarding on the EU side.
• Transit cargo, which is typically used to bypass both EU and UK borders and continue to an authorised inland External Temporary Storage Facility (ETSF), where cargo can be devanned into an approved customs area. Once cleared, the cargo can then be released for final delivery.

Source: DSV