We have received a few calls from customers asking about the 31st January 2020 Brexit deadline.
As long as the Brexit deal is ratified by UK Parliament, we are due to officially leave the EU on 31st January. We will then enter a transition period until 31st December 2020. Currently as we stand this will be the date our current free trade agreement ends and our new deal starts.
There has been much speculation as to whether a new trade agreement can be agreed in 11 months and if a no deal could still be the eventual outcome. The transition period can be extended by a further 2 years but we will need to request this extension by July 2020.
No additional paperwork requirements will be needed till 1st January 2021 or the end of any agreed extension period. Its hard to believe that we will get a similar free trade deal to the one we currently have. A trade deal will make the requirement for paperwork a necessity. So, it’s not really a question of if additional customs paperwork will be introduced but when it will be.
For more information on how Brexit will affect your European shipping, just visit our Brexit page.