Help and support if your business trades with the EU

From 1 January the way the UK trades with the EU will change. To buy or sell from the EU you will need to follow new customs rules or you will not be able to continue to trade. These important actions are required regardless of the outcome of negotiations with the EU and whether or not the government secures a Free Trade Agreement.

Find out what you need to do to:

• export goods to the EU
• import goods from the EU
• prepare your business to continue to move people, data and services between the UK and the EU

Learn more about trading with the EU from 1 January 2021 

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Completing customs import declarations

Register for the next live webinar for completing customs import declarations.

Prepare to export goods from Great Britain to the EU from 1 January 2021

The process for exporting goods to the EU will change. Read the step by step actions businesses in England, Wales and Scotland will need to complete to continue exporting to EU countries from 1 January 2021.  Within these steps is the following statement: From 1 January 2021, you can charge customers VAT at 0% (known as 'zero rate') on most goods you export to the EU.  Check if you can zero rate your goods for VAT 

Moving goods under the Northern Ireland Protocol

At the end of the transition period, the Northern Ireland Protocol ('the Protocol') will take effect. The Protocol is a practical solution to avoid a hard border with Ireland whilst ensuring the UK, including Northern Ireland, leaves the EU as a whole, enabling the entire UK to benefit from future Free Trade Agreements. There will be special provisions which apply only in Northern Ireland while the Protocol is in force. This guidance provides support for businesses engaging in new processes under the Northern Ireland protocol.  

Within the UK's approach to the Northern Ireland protocol is the following section on VAT and excise:

41.The Protocol means that Northern Ireland maintains alignment on some administrative processes included within the EU VAT and excise rules for goods. Northern Ireland is, and will remain, part of the UK's VAT and excise system, reflecting the fact that each jurisdiction across Europe already operates separate VAT and excise regimes. HMRC will continue to be responsible for the operation and collection of the revenues, which will not be passed on to the EU. The Protocol notes that implementation will take into account Northern Ireland's integral place in the UK's internal market. The Government is confident that we can use the flexibilities available, in the context of the wider commitments to Northern Ireland's place in the UK internal market, to implement these aspects of the Protocol in a way which minimises new costs and burdens on businesses in Northern Ireland.

42.As regards VAT rates, Northern Ireland remains bound by EU rules, which provide a good deal of flexibility already. There is a specific provision in the Protocol which allows the Government to apply in Northern Ireland VAT exemptions and reductions, including zero rating, corresponding to those applicable in Ireland. This means Northern Ireland will benefit in the same way as the rest of the UK from the Government's commitment in the Budget to scrap the 5% rate on sanitary products from 1 January next year.