What a no-deal Brexit means for businesses

HMRC has written to hundreds of thousands of UK businesses that only trade with the EU to tell them what to expect if there is a no-deal Brexit.The letters have been sent to some 145,000 VAT-registered businesses, explaining that they should prepare for possible changes to customs, excise and VAT procedures.

Businesses which trade with non-EU countries will already be perfectly used to these procedures, as they are par for the course when trading with the rest of the world. But businesses which trade only within the EU will have to make considerable adjustments, as at the moment, there are no customs checks or declarations between Britain and the rest of the EU.

Any changes would, in theory, come into force at 11pm on March 29, when Britain leaves the EU. A transition period until at least the end of 2020 to make the process more gradual still looks likely, but it is unclear what this would involve.

Minimising disruption?

The more comprehensive the deal that the UK signs with the EU, if indeed it does sign one, the less disruption there is likely to be. Negotiations stalled further on Tuesday 16 October, when EU leaders scrapped plans to outline a possible deal at a summit the following day. This came after Brexit secretary Dominic Raab refused to sign off an agreement on the Irish border.

Despite its assurances that no deal is “unlikely”, the government clearly believes it is a realistic possibility, … READ MORE ...