EORI auto-enrolment

The government has announced it will start to automatically enrol UK firms in the customs system as it speeds up its preparations for a no-deal Brexit. The move will enable UK firms to continue to trade with EU member states after the UK leaves the EU.

HMRC said all VAT-registered firms in the UK – which had not already signed up to the customs system – would receive a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number within the next two weeks.

The EORI number will allow firms to continue to trade with customers and suppliers in the EU once the UK has left the EU on 31 October. Firms without an EORI number will not be allowed to trade with EU member states after Brexit. Business trade groups had urged the government to act after many companies failed to register for the system.

72,000 businesses have registered for an EORI number. The government is now writing to more than 88,000 VAT registered companies to let them know the UK EORI number they've been assigned under the auto-enrolment scheme.

Many companies which have only ever traded exclusively within the EU will not have a number as one is not required for intra-EU trade in goods under the Single Market.

What are the EORI requirements if there's a no-deal Brexit?

Businesses will need an EORI number that starts with GB to move goods in or out of the UK if there's no Brexit deal.

Businesses that already have an EORI number that starts with GB, can continue to use it. The EORI is 12 digits long and includes the company's VAT registration number (if VAT registered).

In order to trade with an EU country businesses also need an EU EORI number. It will start with the country code of the EU country it is obtained from. The EU EORI should be applied for from the customs authorities in the EU country the business will trade with first.

An EORI number is not required for companies that only move goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

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