The SCR Chambers: Doncaster A credible Chamber


We believe in the power of collaboration to get things done on behalf of our members and partners across the borough


How Doncaster Chamber can help


Doncaster Chamber’s international trade team has a wealth of experience working with hundreds of businesses exporting all manner of goods and services, regardless of size or sector.


Brexit Hub Practical advice and guidance to help you navigate the new trading terms.


ChamberCustoms ChamberCustoms is a customs broker, training and advisory service and the only customs broker with direct links to all air, sea and land port terminals in the UK. With direct links to the HMRC Customs


handling system and all inventory linked ports, Doncaster Chamber can guarantee that your goods, no matter where they enter or leave the UK, will be cleared for onward transportation smoothly.


Accredited training on international trade The British Chambers of Commerce has ten nationally accredited international trade courses delivered by the Accredited Chamber Network that together form an import and export curriculum. These courses give international traders


the essential skills invaluable to small and large businesses alike. During each one-day course the


candidates must demonstrate knowledge of the subject, and their performance is marked by an external assessor.


International trade and customs advice With over 30 years’ collective experience


in international trade and customs, our team are ideally placed to help you get your goods moving.


Visit doncaster- chamber.co.uk/international-trade


International trade W


hen Boris Johnson announced his Brexit trade deal on 24 December , he said it would enable UK companies "to


do even more business" with the European Union. Britain, after completing its exit from the


European Union, would benefit from prosperous trade deals around the world and seamless exporting to the EU market’s 450 million consumers. But since the UK split from its single biggest


trading partner, Brexit has proven to be disastrous for many of the Sheffield City Region’s exporters, which have rejected government’s description of the issues as "teething problems". “The difficulties that exporters are facing are


not just ‘teething problems.’ They are structural issues that, if they continue to go unaddressed, could lead to long term, potentially irreversible weakness in the sector,” said Adrian Platts, Head of International Trade at Doncaster Chamber. Doncaster Chamber, together with Sheffield


Chamber and Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce investigated the challenges that international traders in the region faced. “Despite easements at UK ports for overseas


goods movement, we heard from business that the sheer volume of paperwork and administration that now needs to be in place was causing significant delays on getting goods moving.” He continued. Adrian Wilkinson from Four Friends Pet Foods


told Doncaster Chamber a now all too familiar story of red tape and lost time. “On our delivery that left Sweden last week


there are 1,000 sample bags of cat food. We don’t purchase these, they are free of charge. They are then given away free of charge from our website. “Swedish customs have held the delivery for


four days claiming you can’t have goods on a commercial invoice with a zero value and must put a minimum value of £10. Under that theory we then have to pay UK VAT on the £10. While not a massive amount of money that is not how I understand commercial sampling works. We can have items moved out of the EU with a zero


38 CHAMBERconnect Spring 2021


value. In the end we have manually changed the commercial invoice and given the samples a value of one penny and Swedish customs have accepted this. So that will be another five days transit time lost to bureaucracy.” He explained. “Before Brexit our delivery always left on the


first Thursday of each month. It would be delivered to us in Thorne first thing on the following Tuesday morning. Now that can take in excess of two weeks. We have now started importing every week on a groupage basis. This still takes in excess of two weeks. The worrying thing here is our cash flow is under a serious strain thanks to red tape. Come June/July we will have to make a decision if we are to continue or not. Groupage has a cost and red tape is killing our business. We simply can’t keep passing those costs on to the customer.” And the problems don’t end there. Even when


goods make it outside of the UK, hold ups caused by mixed consignment challenges add to the lengthy delays. Mixed consignments – shipments with multiple


types of goods classified under different tariff headings – depend on paperwork being correct for all of the goods on board. “Before Brexit, businesses who traded with EU


buyers and suppliers didn’t need to know or understand customs until now. Those businesses with less experience trading outside of the single market model are finding it difficult to adjust to the new trading regime” said Adrian Platts.


How to get ahead with the SME Brexit Support Fund The Government’s £20m SME Brexit Support Fund will help smaller businesses adapt to the new trading regime. Grants of up to £2,000 are available for businesses to help with the costs of training. Government guidance suggests the grant can


be used for training on: • How to complete customs declarations • How to manage customs processes and use customs software/systems


• Specific import and export related aspects including VAT, excise and rules of origin.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84