Watch our narrated video to explain how you need to get ready for leaving the EU. This guide is intended as a brief summary introduction only. Updates on advice issued by Gov.UK can be found below and we strongly recommend you visit this page regularly because requirements may be subject to change.
Alternatively the information in the video is in this pdf document which you can download and save.
Watch our narrated video to explain how the UK Border Operating Model applies to importing (non-CITES) live aquatic animals. This guide is intended as a brief summary introduction only. Updates on advice issued by Gov.UK can be found below and we strongly recommend you visit this page regularly because requirements may be subject to change.
Alternatively the information in the video is in this pdf document which you can download and save.
Watch our narrated video to explain the UK Border Operating Model and how to import CITES species. This guide is intended as a brief summary introduction only. Updates on advice issued by Gov.UK can be found below and we strongly recommend you visit this page regularly because requirements may be subject to change.
Alternatively the information in the video is in this pdf document which you can download and save.
The UK is leaving the EU single market and customs union and the end of the transition period will happen on 1 January 2021. Therefore businesses which import and export with EU countries need to start preparing themselves. We will gather information relevant to our industry on this page with links to government advice and we would urge you to bookmark this page and check it regularly.
Business Support Helpline
- businesses in England: call 0800 998 1098
- businesses in Scotland: call 0300 303 0660
- businesses in Wales: call 0300 060 3000
- businesses in Northern Ireland: call 0800 181 4422.
General advice
- The transition period – UK Government hub
- Information on how the border will work after 1 January 2021.
- Use this checker tool to work out what your business needs to do to get ready for 1 January 2021.
- Find Government webinars to help businesses prepare.
- Help & support if your business trades with the EU
- Trading under WTO rules if there is no trade agreement with the EU
- Preparing to trade at the end of the Transition Period
- Trading with Northern Ireland
Importing – general
- Importing goods – a step-by-step guide to check what you need to do.
- UK Border Control Posts: contact details.
- List of controlled goods that require a custom declaration.
- Find UK approved customs agents and fast parcel operators
- Apply for grants if your business completes customs declarations.
- Watch this video to help you prepare to import from the EU.
- Check what declarations need to be made for goods you bring or receive into the UK from 1 January 2021
- Find out what to do if you need to use the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system to make an import or export declaration
Importing livestock
- Importing animals, animal products and high-risk food and feed not of animal origin from a non-EU country, from 1 January 2021. What businesses need to do to import animals, animal products, high-risk food and feed into the UK from 1 January 2021. Find out more here.
- Importing live aquatic animals. Find out more here. This link is for Scottish businesses which import live animals into Scotland.
- Fish Health Certificates to import live fish or aquaculture products to Great Britain, the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
Importing plants and plant products
- Importing plants and plant products from 1 January 2021. How to trade in plants and plant products, including trees, inside and outside the EU from 1 January 2021. Find out more here.
- UK Plant Passport requirements – information sheet, templates, Plant Health Portal.
- Find out which plants, plant products and other objects need a plant passport for movement within Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
- A list of places where you can bring consignments of plants, seeds and produce into the UK, including ports and airports.
- Find out the varieties of plant species that Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Northern Ireland require to be registered on their variety lists.
- Check whether plants or plant products you import from the EU are subject to plant health controls in 2021
- PEACH workaround for plants
Importing CITES
- Trading & moving CITES species (eg corals). Find out more here.
- Designated land, sea and air ports for trading or moving CITES-listed endangered animals, plants, or their parts and derivatives from 1 January 2021. Find them all here.
Transport
- Transporting goods between GB & EU: a guide for hauliers & commercial drivers
- FAQ on The Transport of Live Animals – Transporter Authorisation, Certificates of Competence, Vehicle Approval and Journey Log rules
Exporting
- Exporting goods – a step-by-step guide to check what you need to do.
- Exporting or moving live animals from the UK – including what happens if animals are rejected at EU BCPs
- Export licences. Find out more here.
- Advice on how to register for export health certificates online
- Read Defra advice on what you need to do to export plants to the EU.
- Watch this Government video to help you prepare to export to the EU.
- Register for webinars if you export live animals to the EU
- Check what declarations need to be made for goods you bring or receive into the UK from 1 January 2021
- Exporting plants to EU or NI: how to register on eDomero
Retail
Retail sector: end of transition period guidance
Watch the Government webinar for the retail sector
Manufacturing
The new UK domestic regime will cover most goods currently subject to the EU’s CE marking. The technical requirements for these goods will be the same on 1 January 2021 as they are now. However, there will be certain changes, including the introduction of the UKCA marking and a system of third-party conformity assessment by UK-recognised approved bodies, in place of the current EU system of notified bodies.
- Conformity assessment bodies: change of status from 1 January 2021
- Using the UKCA mark from 1 January 2021
- Placing manufactured goods on the EU market from 1 January 2021
- Placing manufactured goods on the market in Great Britain from 1 January 2021
- Placing manufactured goods on the market in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021
- Intellectual property after 1 January 2021
- Product safety and metrology from 1 January 2021: Great Britain
- Product safety and metrology from 1 January 2021: Northern Ireland
Veterinary Medicines
Find all the latest advice on the the VMD Information Hub here.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Protocol will take effect from 1 January 2021 and means there are different rules. So if you provide goods to Northern Ireland from Great Britain you need to get ready for these different process.
- Moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain should take place as it does now – there will be no additional process, paperwork, or restrictions on Northern Ireland goods moving to Great Britain, delivering unfettered access.
- Changes for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an absolute minimum – with a new Trader Support Service, available to all traders at no cost, to be established to provide wraparound support, alongside guidance on the processes for food and agricultural products designed to uphold the longstanding status of the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological unit.
- Trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and between Northern Ireland and EU Member States, will continue unaffected, with no change at the border, no new paperwork, and no tariffs or regulatory checks.
- For trade with the rest of the world, Northern Ireland will benefit from UK Free Trade Agreements – ensuring the benefits of those agreements are felt right across the United Kingdom.
Employing people from the EU
Check the Government hub on the changes you need to prepare for if you employ people from EU countries.
UK points immigration system: a guide for employers
Information for EU businesses which trade with the UK
The UK Government has produced this website to help EU businesses get ready to continue to trade with UK businesses after 1 January 2021. Please share with any EU businesses you do business with to help them.
Trading with the UK: exporting animals and animal products to the UK (includes information on the new UK Office of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Trade Assurance)
Other regulations
eCommerce Directive
At the end of the transition period, the eCommerce Directive will no longer apply to the UK. You should begin to prepare for these changes now. Rules relating to online activities in European Economic Area (EEA) countries may newly apply to UK online service providers who operate in the EEA from 1 January 2021. The eCommerce Directive currently allows EEA online service providers to operate in any EEA country, while only following relevant rules in the country in which they are established. This framework will no longer apply to UK providers as the UK will have left the EEA. This is likely to affect you if you sell online.
Data protection
Personal data is any information that can be used to identify a living person, including names, delivery details, IP addresses, or HR data such as payroll details. Most organisations use personal data in their daily operations. So if a UK company receives customer information from an EU company, such as names and addresses, to provide goods or services you need to make sure you are up to date on the changes.
Using your mobile in the EU
Surcharge-free roaming when you travel to EU and EEA countries will no longer be guaranteed from 1 January 2021. This would include employees of UK companies travelling in the EU for business.
