HMRC have announced changes to the customs grant scheme to allow more people to access the funding and help they need to ensure they are ready to trade with the EU after the transition period ends.
For detailed information, please follow the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/grants-for-businesses-that-complete-customs-declarations
- Am I Eligible?
- Customs intermediaries, including customs brokers, freight forwarders and express parcel operators – as well as traders who complete their own declarations, are among those who may benefit from the new co-funded training project under General Block Exemption Regulations (GBER);
- Businesses with Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status who have had a base in the UK for less than 12 months can also now access the grant scheme.
- Your business must:
- be currently established in the UK;
- have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting the application or hold Authorised Economic Operator status;
- not have previously failed to meet its tax obligations;
- In addition, your businesses must meet one of the descriptions below:
- complete or intend to complete customs declarations on behalf of your clients;
- be an importer or exporter and complete, or intend to complete, declarations internally for your own goods;
- be an organisation which recruits, trains and places apprentices in businesses to undertake customs declarations;
- trade with the EU and do not intend to complete your own declarations but want to undertake customs training.
- What Can I Apply For?
- You can apply for grants to help your business with customs declarations, in relation to:
- recruitment, training and IT to help your business to complete customs declarations;
- co-funded training project to help your business complete customs declarations;
- trader-training to understand customs;
- How Much Support Is Available?
- Recruitment, training and IT grant
- The grant will give you £3,000 towards recruitment costs for each new employee;
- You could also get up to £12,000 to cover the salary costs for each new or redeployed employee;
- It will also cover the cost of training you run internally, up to a limit of £250 for each employee on the course;
- The grant will give you 100% of the costs relating to your IT expenditure to improve the efficiency of making customs declarations
- Trader training
- If you are applying for customs training for traders, the grant will cover up to £1,000 per organisation;
- You can apply for funding for up to 100% of the cost of training.
- Co-funded training project
- a maximum of 2 million euros
- What If I Am New To The Customs Process?
- If you are new to the customs process then you can apply for grants of up to £1,000 per organisation to support the cost of basic customs training;
- This will help traders understand what is involved in making customs declarations and can help them prepare for when they speak to an intermediary.
- How Will Grants Be Allocated?
- Grants will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis and applications will close on 30 June 2021, or earlier if all funding is allocated.
- Applications for the co-funded training project, trader training and for AEO businesses opened on 16 November 2020.
- For more information on the scheme and how to apply, please read the guidance on GOV.UK”
- How Do I Apply?
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is administering the grants for HMRC.