The Brexit Transition Period is Coming to an End

As we have spent most of this year dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the UK left the EU at the end of 2019.  Despite this, the existence of a transition period has meant that it has been business as usual so far, at least in terms of our relationship with the EU, but this is about to change.  The transition period ends at 23:00 on 31 December 2020, so we all need to start planning for how we are going to do business with the EU on 1 January 2021 and beyond.

Planning for the end of the transition period is no easy matter, given that we do not yet have a Brexit deal with the EU, but equally we cannot be sure that we shall be going into 2021 without a deal in place.  Inevitably much of what we have to do will be left to the last minute.

Nevertheless, it will be helpful at this stage to think about aspects of future activities which each of us are going to have to deal with.  For many businesses, there will be little or no change; for many others there will be new processes to learn and new uncertainties to face.  We shall focus on specific areas in future blogs as and when the situation becomes clearer, but for now we can at least look at the areas we shall need to consider.

The UK Government has set up a website to assist with this: https://www.gov.uk/transition  This is a very helpful resource with an interactive checklist which takes you through a series of questions on your personal and business circumstances and creates a list of things to consider and links to further information targeted to your specific situation.

It is important to be aware that Brexit does not only affect businesses which are trading with other EU countries – there may be implications for businesses which trade only within the UK.  These are a few of the matters to consider:

VAT

For VAT registered businesses that buy and sell goods and/or services entirely within the UK, there will be no immediate change.

The situation for businesses that have significant transactions with EU countries is more complex, particularly if the trade involves the import and export of goods.  This will be covered in more detail in a future blog, but points to consider will include:

• Do you need to apply for an EORI (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) number?
• Should you appoint a Customs Intermediary?
• Should you apply for a duty deferment account?

Contracts

You may need to consider whether your terms and conditions of business need to be amended following Brexit.  This may be the case if you deal with suppliers or customers in the EU.

Data protection

The EU GDPR regulations will no longer be directly applicable after Brexit.  The UK Government intends to write equivalent regulations into law so there is unlikely to be a significant impact in practice, but additional procedures may have to be put in place if personal information is being exchanged with an organisation in the EU.

Travel

Whether you are travelling for business or pleasure, you should make sure that your arrangements are in order.  The details will depend on which county or countries you are visiting, but matters to consider will include:

• Is your passport valid? Different EU countries may have different requirements after Brexit.
• Will you need a visa?
• Do you have adequate travel insurance, including healthcare cover?

Employees

If you employ individuals who are EU citizens but do not have UK citizenship, those individuals may need to register under the EU Settlement Scheme.  This is the responsibility of the employee and the employer should not become involved in the employee’s immigration status.  Nevertheless, an awareness of the situation will be helpful in case employees ask questions.  An employer toolkit for businesses which have employees from EU countries is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eu-settlement-scheme-employer-toolkit

Intellectual property

Businesses with intellectual property – including trademarks, patents and registered designs – should contact their advisors to ensure that suitable protection remains in place from 1 January 2021.

Updates

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy encourages all businesses to subscribe to email updates here:

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKDECC/subscriber/new?topic_id=UKDECC_166

This blog has mentioned just a few of the practicalities that should be considered in preparation for the end of the Brexit transition period.  We shall look at these in more detail as the situation develops.

Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash