Impact of Brexit to freight forwarding

There were no customs borders between the EU states before Brexit and to the end of the transition period. The great advantage of it was that it practically eliminated paperwork and customs delays involved with moving goods. It also meant that there were no duties to be paid and goods could move frictionless from one EU country to the other. As of 1 January 2021 Great Britain left the EU customs union and VAT area. Therefore there will be some paperwork needed to move goods through the EU countries.

Brexit also means that the countries of Great Britain will no longer be able to enjoy the preferential terms negotiated by the EU. They will have to set their import tariffs and define new standards and negotiate trade deals with countries around the world. Therefore whether it is a full load or a pallet that is being sent to a nation of the EU, the freight movements will be subject to new customs procedures that will be on the same lines that apply to all other non-EU nations.

Due to the ambiguity related to new regulations, businesses who had no issues with the movement of goods to the EU will now have to partner with freight forwarders and logistics providers as they are better positioned to inform shippers about the complying with the customs and exercise rules to move goods from Great Britain to other countries and the EU. The forwarders will be able to advice on all the rules that cover things such as import and export declarations and licenses, VAT and duties, revised terms and conditions, entry and exit declarations and more. Since the legal and customs domain is where businesses will encounter the most changes when shipping internationally, freight forwarders are their best options to navigate the uncharted waters.

What Forwarders will have to plan for

These are some of the things you will have to consider as part of your Brexit action plan and how a freight forwarding software can help manage the complexity:

Legal

All your contracts will have to be reexamined to identify those with clauses that relate to UK’s membership in the European Union. Examine the difficulty with which you can renegotiate the contract or leave it based on your services. When making a new contract, have some room for uncertainties that will arise in the future and include safeguards to keep you protected.

Customs and Tariffs

You will have to understand the implications of the new duties on imports as it will be a key part of your business. Look into the administrative and financial cost of duties and reexamine how your business can adapt. You will inevitably face the ambiguity on the risk of having to pay multiple duties across Europe and this where a freight forwarding software will take away most of your burdens.

Vat

The sales of certain goods between the UK and EU become imports and exports for the purposes of VAT. There is also much uncertainty in the chances of increase in costs which can be mitigated by an ERP solution to protect your cash flow and keep profit margins while keeping the process transparent to your clients.

Data

Your new activities in importing and exporting will generate fresh data that needs to be captured for the purposes of receipts, goods dispatch and the documents that accompany them. You will need a specialized solution to acquire data and implement it for the trade purposes while simultaneously integrating it with the rest of your accounting process.

The Bottom Line

A well managed freight forwarding solution such as Newage has the ability to mitigate the potential impact brought about by Brexit. Our ERP solution for freight forwarders offers end-to-end visibility and streamlines your process to move your shipment reliably to and from the UK.