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British businesses warn of increased Brexit bureaucracy as the government prepares to introduce a long list of new controls on imports from the European Union in April and July.
More checks will take place at the UK border in the coming months, monitoring everything from the importation of live sausages and mussels to horses and trees, as well as where these checks can be carried out.
One logistics company warned that the situation had “a disaster written all over it,” saying companies need more time to prepare, while accounting firm KPMG said some of the “biggest headaches” traders face they are yet to come. Importers fear that UK customs are unprepared for the new controls and that traffic jams at points of entry could lead to shortages of fruit and vegetables in the spring.
Much of the focus on Brexit trade since January has been on UK exports, as the EU imposed its customs controls immediately, with carriers reporting that the volume of exports going through British ports to the EU it fell 68% last month compared to January 2020.
However, the British government chose a phased approach, postponing the introduction of certain import procedures for three to six months.
These grace periods were designed to give companies more time to adjust to new rules and ways of working, but many will expire shortly.
The next big change is slated for April 1, when UK Customs will begin to control imports of animal products, including fish products and live bivalve molluscs like mussels; foods considered high risk such as minced meat and sausages; plants and plant products.
These checks, known as Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks, mean that all the correct documentation is needed for every shipment arriving in the UK, including import forms and health certificates signed by veterinarians.
More changes are coming in July as traders moving goods are required to complete their full customs declarations upon entering the UK, rather than submitting forms at a later date. Additionally, imports will have to enter the UK at specific locations known as border checkpoints.
More changes affecting certification and regulations for items like medical devices have been given a longer transition period, until January 2022 and the beginning of 2023 in some cases.
The meat industry is worried about April.
“If we have as much trouble importing as we are exporting, it could be a big challenge,” said Nick Allen, executive director of the British Association of Meat Processors.
The overwhelming majority of meat processor trade is with EU countries, as the UK imports pork and beef from the continent, while exporting products including beef and lamb. trade worth £ 8.2 billion a year to the British economy.
After grace periods end, if the documentation that accompanies a meat shipment is missing or incorrect, you cannot travel to your destination. Muggings in European ports due to problems with documentation for UK exports led to containers of British meat rotting at the Rotterdam pier.
“Delays cost money. If you have a truck stuck for 30 hours unexpectedly, that causes a nightmare logistics problem, ”Allen said. “Someone is waiting for that delivery, possibly waiting for it to hit the shelves and get stuck at the port while someone does the paperwork right.”
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Allen cautions that repeated delays could lead to lost business: “Over time, if you can’t fulfill orders, customers start looking elsewhere.”
The prospect of empty shelves is “shocking” for artisan cheese retailer La Fromagerie. After 30 years of sourcing French and Italian specialty cheeses to sell in her London stores and UK customers online, Brexit has left Patricia Michelson facing additional import duties and taxes.
“If things don’t improve, I can see prices will go up 10-15% in April. Carriers raised their prices immediately by 15%, ”Michelson said. “We will have to see if it is viable or not in the future, or not to get as many cheeses as before.”
Since the beginning of the year, carriers transporting goods from the EU to the UK have been able to complete their customs declarations for up to six months after delivery. These delayed returns are no longer allowed after June.
This could create big problems, warns Adam Shuter, deputy managing director of Exact Logistics, a transport company that specializes in delivering goods from Germany, from car parts and napkins to tea and trees, to their final destination in Britain.
Based in Rugby, the company has been “under the sea” since customs clearance began in January and is hiring more staff.
“From July, everything will have to be cleared up by the time I get to the UK and in my opinion that has disaster written on it,” Shuter said. “I don’t think the systems are robust enough to be able to process the information quickly enough.”
Shuter believes that the government should extend the grace period until systems can cope and traders are used to the new regime and paperwork.
However, not everyone is convinced that an extension is the answer. Border controls will need to be introduced at some point to prevent Britain from being exposed to fraud or smuggling and to comply with the broader standards of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
As of July, goods entering the UK must be checked at official border checkpoints, of which there are currently 36. Some companies fear that there is not enough workforce at the borders.
There is “concern” about the new procedures, said Jonathan Whittermore, head of production and acquisitions at Johnsons of Whixley, a wholesale nursery in North Yorkshire. It imports plants and trees from the Netherlands and Belgium to sell to landscaping companies.
“How are these controls going to work at the border control posts? If you unload 80 boxes from a truck, where do you put them for inspection? If we talk about the Killingholme docks, how the hell are they going to manage to do that?
The new controls and processes could mean that “some of the biggest headaches for shippers and companies that import are definitely yet to come,” says Tim Sarson, tax partner at accounting firm KPMG.
The introduction of animal and plant inspections in April uncomfortably coincides with the time of year when Britain starts importing more food from southern Europe.
“There are SPS controls that slow things down, just like volumes from Europe are increasing, if there is going to be a shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables then it is likely to happen,” Sarson said.
Import controls will be introduced “in stages, as planned,” a government spokesman said. “The government is ready to help companies make their products flow smoothly,” they added.
