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EU update: what happens on 1 January 2021?


The UK government has advised that when the transition ends, border controls for trade in EU goods will be introduced in three stages up until 1 July 2021. However, the EU has already made it clear that it will not be offering reciprocal arrangements


We are aware that between writing this article and it being read there could be significant changes. Ongoing negotiations between the UK and EU will lead to policy and procedural changes, and in reality much may not be finalised until the relevant Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is signed between the EU and UK. However, what do we know to date? The first and most


important fact is that the UK left the EU on the 31 January 2020, with parties entering a transition period that will last until the 31 December 2020. Until that date, EU law is applicable to all areas and we remain in both the Single Market and Customs Union. Currently negotiations in three areas are being undertaken,


these are: • To ensure that the Withdrawal Agreement is properly implemented, with particular reference to Ireland;


• Negotiating a future partnership based on the Political Declaration;


• Trade negotiations, which it must be hoped will lead to a FTA.


In the middle of June the negotiations intensified with heads


of state becoming increasingly involved. As of 19 June, there had been four rounds of negotiations regarding the future EU- UK relationship and two regarding Ireland. It would be fair to say that the negotiations made only limited progress. On 12 June, the government announced that it would neither


seek nor accept an extension to the transition period. Concurrently, the UK government advised trade that after


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transition ended, border controls for trade in EU goods would be introduced in three stages up until 1 July 2021. The three stages are:


• From 1 January, traders importing standard goods (ie non- controlled) will need to keep basic customs records, including invoices, shipping documents, etc. They will have up to six months from the date of import to declare the goods to Customs and pay any potential duty or VAT. It is envisaged that the final declaration will be made in some form of Customs Freight Simplified Procedure (CFSP). Controlled and excise goods will need to be declared to Customs at the frontier. All high-risk live animals and plants will be physically checked at the port of destination or approved premises.


• From 1 April 2021, all products of animal origin and all regulated plants and plant products will need pre-notification and presentation of the relevant health documentation.


• From 1 July 2021, traders moving all goods will have to make customs declarations at the point of importation and pay the relevant tariff duties. Safety and security declarations will be required for all consignments imported from the EU into the UK. There will be an increase in physical checks and the taking of samples, etc. Checks on animals, plants and other such products will be undertaken at the appropriate border control posts (some of which await construction).


It is noteworthy that the EU has already made it clear that it


will not be offering reciprocal arrangements after 1 January 2021, and that full customs declarations and safety and


August 2020


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