After a suspension that lasted for the whole of 2021, the new rules on the import of goods from the European Union envisaged by the Brexit agreement come into force today in the United Kingdom. Small businesses, however, fear that the burden of bureaucratic procedures will discourage exporters, especially those of gastronomic specialties.
“The classic example is the deli shop that imports, for example, chorizo from Spain or Parmesan from Italy,” explained the head of International Affairs of the Federation of Small Businesses, James Sibley, “for them the thought of having to logging into these systems is daunting and the procedure is expensive, so there is a lot of concern. We have perceived a lot of apprehension from these small businesses directly involved ».
The new rules require companies to report to customs exactly what is being shipped from the European Union to the UK and from where. The exporter will need to acquire an identification number and forward it to the UK importers, who in turn will need to collect further data and notify the authorities. If the procedure is handled incorrectly or incompletely, the assets can be seized, confiscated or returned to the sender.
“What we have learned is that some European exporters are not prepared for any of this, some do not even have an identification number,” explained Sibley who fears a similar impact to the one suffered by British exporters last year. , in some cases, they simply gave up on selling products in the European Union due to excessive bureaucratic burden.
Then from 1 July further rules will come into force. “From that moment on, exporters will also need health and veterinary certificates if they export food or other products of animal origin,” Sibley warned, “at which point some EU exporters may simply conclude that it is not worth it.”
In July, Sibley explained, they will also begin “physical inspections of assets at border crossings in the UK, and this could lead to further delays as there will in fact be a vet with cards going around the lorry to determine what is going on. good or what not “.
The Federation of Small Businesses has warned that the impact of the new rules will mostly be small businesses, as larger operators will have the financial resources to outsource the paperwork to third parties.