Earlier this week, the government announced a new £20 million Brexit Support Fund to help small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) adjusting to the new customs and VAT rules, when trading with the EU.
The Fund will comprise of grants of up to £2,000 per business. The grant is intended to cover:
- Training on managing customs processes, completing customs declarations, how to use customs software and issues relating to exporting such as VAT, excise and rules of origin
- Professional advice to allow businesses to meet the requirements for customs, import VAT, excise and security declarations
To be eligible for the grants, businesses must:
- Be established in the UK for at least 12 months or hold Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status
- Have not failed to meet any previous tax or customs obligations
- Have a turnover of no more than £100m
- Employ no more than 500 staff members
- Import or export goods between Great Britain and the EU or Northern Ireland
- Either; complete or intend to complete import or export declarations internally or use a third party to do so, but require additional capability internally
Grant applications will be submitted online when applications open. Visit the government website for further information.
