EU Post-Transition Business Resource Hub

Travelling to the EU for business?

Freedom of movement has ended. Under the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and UK, visa-free travel is possible for business and leisure purposes, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. However, paid activities will be restricted.

This three-minute video will help you understand the latest information and guidance on:

• Local work permits.
• Will you need to pay any local taxes.
• What are the local passport, driving and insurance requirements? ​​​​​​​​​​

The end of the EU exit transition period: what does it mean for London businesses?

The EU exit transition period ended on 31 December, bringing changes for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors. Join Michael Large from Colman Coyle in this brief overview of the key things businesses should do now to stay resilient and navigate these changes.

Changes to data and intellectual property

The UK is now outside the European Union’s ‘single market’. That means the UK is also outside the single market for data transfers and digital services. Almost all businesses now handle data in some form or another. Even if your main business is not in digital services, you can assume that you will be affected.

This three-minute video will help you understand how to:

• Protect your intellectual property (IP).
• Collect, store and transfer data.
• Check your digital and technology services.

The UK has now officially left the EU and since the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has been agreed on 24 December 2020 and came into force on 31 December 2020,. it is going to affect you and your business. It is up to you to take action now to prepare for it, if you have not already. A new post-Brexit trade deal introduces big changes for business.

These Guides will give you the basics for Everything You Need To Know About…

• Employment:
  • Employing EU citizens in the UK
  • Employing UK citizens at your European Office
  • Changes to right to work checks
• Trade:
  • Trade legally with the EU following the enforcement of the Free Trade Agreement
  • Comply with trade in goods and services provisions under the Free Trade Agreement
  • Tax and tariffs under the Free Trade Agreement
• Intellectual Property (IP) and EU Data
• Travelling to and from the EU

Each Guide explains what is happening in the relevant area and gives you a quick checklist of things you will need to know, and do.

There is also a Glossary of Terms explaining the meaning of the various phrases and abbreviations. These are in alphabetical order.

• These Guides are for general information only and are not a substitute for specific legal or other advice. Where necessary, you should seek advice from a suitably qualified professional, or contact the relevant regulator or government body.
• The GLA cannot accept any liability arising from any action or failure to act on the basis of the information in these Guides.

We have worked with a range of EU experts to develop a series of guides to help you review what decisions have already been made about our future relationship with the EU, what is changing, as a result of the post-Brexit trade deal and how those changes might affect your business. Find out what you can do to prepare your business to operate in the post-Brexit trade deal environment:

• What Does It Mean to Be Outside the EU?
• Preparing for a New Post-Brexit Commercial Environment
• Human Resources (HR): Recruiting Staff From Overseas
• Changes to Regulation
• General Data Protection Regulation and Changes to Data Protection
• Working in the UK for EU Citizens
• Mobility Post-Transition
• Trade in Digital Services
• Trade in Goods
• Trade in Services

We have also developed a series of guides to support businesses operating in the following sectors:

• Construction
• Food and Drink
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Professional and Business Services
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Tech, Creative, Fashion

Important changes to the government’s right to work checks came into force on 1 July 2021. To support employers with EU staff to better understand these changes we have put together some key points for you.

Find out more

London Business Hub has published a series of blogs to help your business navigate the impact of the end of the transition period:

• EU Settlement Scheme
• The New Immigration System

Discover how Munchy Play benefited from specialist support from our business advisers.

Find out more

On-demand post-transition videos

The UK Government has published a series of on-demand videos focused on priority topics for business, including:

• Trading with the EU.
• Moving goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
• Importing and exporting goods.

In May 2022, HMRC started contacting businesses to urge them to move to its new customs IT platform to continue trading.

The Customs Declaration Service supports making import and export declarations when moving goods into and out of the UK. It is a resilient, reliable and adaptable IT platform, which replaces the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF), and is the first step of the UK border transformation.

Find out more about using the Customs Declaration Service.

Business organisations across the UK have published a wide range of resources to help business navigate any changes as a result of the end of the transition period, including:

• The EU Trade Hub from London Chamber of Commerce and Industry provides advice to help businesses continue to trade with the EU.
• Practical guides from the ICAEW.
• Podcast from the British Educational Suppliers Association.

Rules of Origin concerns where a product was manufactured and determines the ‘economic nationality’ of a good for international trade. Businesses need to know about them because the Trade and Cooperation Agreement means they can trade with the EU without paying tariffs – but only if their product meets the relevant Rules of Origin.

To export tariff-free into the EU traders must check their goods meet the Rules of Origin requirements set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and have the right documentation.

You can confirm the requirements for your goods by:

• Checking for details on how to claim preferential (zero) tariffs, and see the documentation you’ll need to complete.
• Reading the full guidance on meeting Rules of Origin when trading with the EU.
• Checking the TCA legal text to see which rules apply to your goods (Chapter 2 as well as Annexes ORIG-1 to ORIG-4 will be most useful).

Useful government resources to help businesses understand the implications of leaving the EU on employing and managing staff include:

• The Settled Status Scheme.
• Right to work checks – Since 1 July 2021, new rules for right to work checks apply. EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens need to provide evidence of lawful immigration status in the UK.
• Home Office guidance for EU, EEA and Swiss frontier workers who want to continue working in the UK.
• Home Office podcast on the points-based immigration system.
• Home Office factsheet for employers about immigration rules.
• An employer’s guide to becoming a licensed sponsor of skilled migrant workers.

There is a wide range of support and guidance available to help businesses understand changes to import and export, including:

• The EORI Mythbuster guide which helps businesses understand if they need an EORI number.
• The UK Government has published guidance for businesses that buy from or sell to the EU.
• Informative videos from the Department for International Trade to help importers/exporters understand the impact of leaving the EU.
• The ‘Brexit and VAT – Does it matter for your business?’ article from AIMS covers important points for businesses that trade with the EU.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published a range of resources to help businesses understand the impact of the end of the transition period on data flows and data protection. Guidance covers a range of topics including:

• How to keep data flowing.
• How personal data will continue to flow now the transition period has ended.
• Changes to data protection.

Changes to intellectual property 

Changes to how the intellectual property (IP) system and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) operate came into force from 1 January 2021. These changes affect:

• Trade Marks and Designs
• Parallel trade from the UK to the EEA
• Unregistered Designs

You can find out more information about all of these changes here.

You can also take the following steps to prepare:

• Consider carefully where to disclose your designs to ensure they have adequate protection in their most important market;
• If you export IP-protected goods on the secondary or parallel market, contact the rights holder in the EEA to see if you have permission to continue to parallel export.
• Consider if you want exports to continue if you are a business that owns the IP rights for goods currently parallel exported from the UK to the EEA.

If you do not take action, there is a risk your business operations will be interrupted. You can find out what other actions you may need to take by using the checker tool at gov.uk/transition and signing up for business readiness updates.

The UK’s new tariff regime, the UK Global Tariff (UKGT), came into force on 1 January 2021, replacing the EU’s Common External Tariff (CET) at the end of the transition period. It applies to imports coming into the UK from countries we do not have a trade agreement or other preferential arrangements with.

The new tariff is tailored to the needs of the UK economy. It will support the country by making it easier and cheaper for businesses to import goods from overseas from 1 January 2021.

Read more about the UKGT at www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-global-tariff-backs-uk-businesses-and-consumers.

The UK Government has published a series of checklists to support businesses in the following sectors to continue to operate and trade now that the transition period has ended:

• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Chemicals
• Construction
• Consumer goods
• Electronics and machinery
• Life sciences
• Metals and materials
• Retail
• Services and investment

The Government has also published a general checklist for businesses in all sectors.

The way that opportunities to supply the UK public sector are advertised has changed. Since 23:00 on 31 December 2020, information on public sector contract opportunities in the UK is published on the Find a Tender Service (FTS):

• FTS is free to use and replaces the role of Tenders Electronic Daily, the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU/TED) for procurements in the UK.
• FTS will work alongside existing procurement portals such as Contracts Finder, MOD Defence Contracts Online, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI which can be used to access a wide range of opportunities to supply the public sector.
• Existing Contracts Finder account holders will be able to use the same login credentials for Find a Tender.

If you wish to access public sector contract opportunities in the EU, you may continue to do so via OJEU/TED.

Moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland?

There are changes to the way goods move between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

For Great British businesses moving goods into Northern Ireland, it’s important to act now to comply with the new rules. There are five key actions for businesses to take:

• Register for the Trader Support Service.
• Get an EORI number.
• Check Commodity Codes.
• Check whether the UK Trader Scheme could help.
• Check goods regulation: Manufactured and Agri-food Goods.

For further information on each of these actions, as well as additional guidance and support for business, check out the ‘Moving Goods from GB to NI Explainer’.

The Explainer also includes a link to a Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy video which further unpacks key changes to the movement of goods into, out of, and through Northern Ireland, and the support available to traders.

Manufacturing

• Make UK have developed a toolkit to help manufacturers respond to the impact of leaving the EU.

Food and drink

• The Food Standards Agency has published guidance about exporting GM food products from 1 January 2021.
• The UK Government has published guidance about how to export fish for human consumption from 1 January 2021.
• The Government has published guidance about how food and drink producers, manufacturers, retailers and suppliers must change labels from 1 January 2021.

Construction

• The Government has published guidance on the system for recognition of architects with an approved qualification from a European Economic Area (EEA) state or Switzerland from 1 January 2021.
• The Government has published guidance about the rules that apply to buying and selling timber and timber products from 1 January 2021.