The current developments in Great Britain lead to a challenging situation.
Traffic at the borders and a decelerated custom process are only the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Since January, deliveries into the UK have to be customs cleared of course. Every day, many trucks just unload cargo at destination and leave. Then the receiver realizes that customs clearance has to be done and apply for it after. Currently, customs offices are quite forgiving. In the future, it can be expected that faults will not be tolerated anymore.
The management of empties is elaborated. Empty trucks crossing borders have to carry original documents (no scans) for their empty load. Recently trucks got refused in Dover and had to go back to the UK, get original documents, and then go to the border again.
Since first January, every truck (above 7.5mt) that leaves the UK via euro tunnel or ferry has to provide a “kent access permit” (KAP) at the French border to be able to enter the EU.
Some companies like German GmbH entities have branch offices in England. Now they would need to be registered as limited companies to do business as usual. Many companies just realized that issue in January.
Many custom agents in the UK are badly trained and don’t know how to deal with new customs regulations, also there’s a lack of customs agents in general.
Moreover, the UK customs system (CHIEF) is overloaded and crashes every once in a while.
Many trucking companies are badly prepared and don’t know the new regulations. The incalculable risks lead to higher prices and delays. Apart from this Companies are challenged with a higher risk of withdrawal of orders due to an unknown future of the development in GB.
Experts of the German trade chamber rate the current situation as a continuous problem that might get worse. We take the situation seriously and are happy to answer all your questions.
