The Government has announced plans to phase in for EU imports the pre-arrival forms known as Entry Summary Declarations, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Officials on Monday held a series of meetings with organisations who represent the haulage industry and handle a significant portion of the UK’s cross border trade, to confirm that from 29 March, the status quo will be temporarily maintained as they will not need to submit Entry Summary Declarations on imports for a period of six months.

Currently Entry Summary Declarations are not required when importing goods from the EU. They will continue to apply for trade from the rest of the world.

The measure is designed to give business more time to prepare for changes to EU-UK trade arrangements in the event that the UK leaves without a deal. This builds on the plans that Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) can be used for at least 15 months for customs declarations.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mel Stride MP said: "We’ve listened to businesses and are responding to their concerns.

"We have been adamant that in the event of no deal, trade must continue at our borders, and we will continue to make our borders secure.

"Maintaining continuity with the current system for the first six months and phasing Entry Summary Declarations in will ensure we deliver on that promise."

The new rules only apply to goods coming from the EU, and will maintain the status quo for carriers. Importers will still be required to submit import declarations for customs purposes – which are not the same as Entry Summary Declarations. HMRC announced ways of making these import declarations easier, through Transitional Simplified Procedures on 4 February 2019.

After the six-month transitional period, carriers will be legally responsible for ensuring Entry Summary Declarations are submitted pre-arrival to HMRC at the time specified by mode of transport.

The measure will not change the UK’s commitment to ensuring our borders remain secure in the event of a no deal and Border Force will continue to carry out intelligence-led checks. A Readiness Task Force in preparation for EU Exit is being recruited and Border Force is on track to increase staff headcount by 900 at the end of March 2019.

The UK’s approach to dangerous goods coming into the UK is not affected.

The briefings are the latest stage in HMRC’s co-ordinated efforts to make sure traders are prepared for all Brexit outcomes.

Further information

• HMRC has already announced Transitional Simplified Procedures or customs.
• HMRC and HM Treasury made £8 million available to help private customs intermediaries and businesses increase their capacity and train employees to prepare for a no deal scenario.
• HMRC has written three times to 145,000 VAT registered businesses that only trade with the EU to provide them with actions to take to prepare for a no deal scenario
• HMRC has previously published more than 100 pages of cross-government guidance for businesses on processes and procedures at the border in a no deal scenario.