Grants to Prepare for new Customs Declaration Processes

Did you know that there are grants available to help you prepare for completing customs declarations for importing and exporting goods once we leave the EU?  Businesses will need to be aware of and prepared for the new processes which will come into force once the transition period is over.

There are 3 grants available which can be applied for until 31 January 2021, although the deadline may close prior to this if all the remaining £7.5 million of grant funding has been allocated.  You can apply for one, two or all three of the grants.

The 3 grants which can be applied for cover the cost of hiring someone to deal with completing customs declarations once the transition period has ended, the cost of training someone to do the customs declarations and finally the cost of IT improvements to enable you to complete the customs declarations more efficiently.

The recruitment grant is £3,000 per employee with the possibility of a further £10,000 to cover 3 months salary.  If you are successful in your application 50% of the funding will be provided initially with the remainder payable when the new employee has been employed for one month.

The training grant is a maximum of £2,250 per course or £250 per employee if the course is run internally.

The IT grant will cover 100% of your costs relating to making your processes for preparing customs declarations more efficient.  This can cover the purchase of hardware, software, and training an employee to use the software.

You can find further information on these grants, how to apply and the criteria you need to meet on the HMRC website.

Lots of businesses have already received these grants so it is well worth applying if you already are or will be importing or exporting goods to and from the EU next year.  The alternative is to use a customs agent to do this for you.  All businesses importing and/or exporting will need an EORI number.