The straightforward checker tool quickly identifies the necessary steps you need to take as a business or individual.

Simply answer a few questions to get a personalised list of actions for you, your family and your businesses. The sign up for emails to get updates when things change. 

Find the checker tool here 

The actions people and business owners need to take vary based on their circumstances. They include:

• Making sure you are ready to travel to Europe from 1 January 2021, for example by getting comprehensive travel insurance, ensuring your passport is valid, and checking your roaming policy with your mobile phone provider.

• If you want to travel to Europe with your pet from 1 January 2021, contact your vet at least 4 months before you travel.

• Making sure your business is ready to export or import from/to the EU, for example by getting an EU EORI number or registering with the relevant Customs Authority.

HM Revenue and Customs has published a number of new materials to help traders prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period including:

For more information please see Countdown to Change webinar series.

The UK government has recently launched their Export Growth Plan with a package of measures to help businesses in England build back better following the pandemic. The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Export Growth Plan provides additional financial support and expertise, some of which is targeted towards specific regions that are most in need. The plan includes:

Licences, certificates and special rules for bringing goods into the UK from 1 January 2021.

You’ll need to get a licence or certificate to import some types of goods into the UK.

You might also need to pay an inspection fee for some goods before they’re allowed into the UK.

 Animals, plants, food and agricultural products

• live animals, animal products, high-risk food and feed
• fish for human consumption
• live fish and shellfish for aquaculture and ornamental purposes
• plant and plant products
• endangered animal and plant species, and products made from them
• veterinary medicines
• wood packaging
• timber

Drugs, chemicals and waste

• controlled drugs
• drug precursor chemicals
• nuclear materials
• fluorinated gases (F gas) and ozone-depleting substances
• waste

Find out more

Licences, certificates and special rules for taking goods out of the UK from 1 January 2021.

You’ll need to get a licence or certificate to export some types of goods from the UK.

Animals, plants, food and agricultural products

• live animals and animal products
• live animals, semen and embryos under the Balai Directive
• fish for human consumption
• live fish and shellfish for aquaculture and ornamental purposes
• endangered plant and animal species, and products made from them
• plants and plant products
• wood packaging
• timber

Chemicals and waste

• ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated gas (F-gas)

• nuclear-related items

• waste

 Sanctions

There are different types of sanctions for trade, transport, finance and immigration.

Check if the goods you’re exporting will be controlled by UK sanctions from 1 January 2021. You may also not be allowed to export your goods to someone who is subject to financial sanctions.

If you're using Union and Common Transit you'll need to prepare your goods and plan your route. You also need to check how to complete the different declarations you'll need.

When you have prepared your business for using Union and Common Transit, you must prepare your goods.

If you haven’t already, check if using Union and Common Transit it right for you.

Find out more on the following here

1. Planning your route
2. Check if you need to complete an export declaration
3. Complete your transit declaration
4. Start moving your goods
5. If your goods are moving through a country outside the EU
6. When your goods reach the country they’re moving to
7. Further information

The straightforward checker tool quickly identifies the necessary steps you need to take as a business or individual.

Simply answer a few questions to get a personalised list of actions for you, your family and your businesses. The sign up for emails to get updates when things change. 

Discover the Checker Tool today

The actions people and business owners need to take vary based on their circumstances. They include:

• Making sure you are ready to travel to Europe from 1 January 2021, for example by getting comprehensive travel insurance, ensuring your passport is valid, and checking your roaming policy with your mobile phone provider.

• If you want to travel to Europe with your pet from 1 January 2021, contact your vet at least 4 months before you travel.

• Making sure your business is ready to export or import from/to the EU, for example by getting an EU EORI number or registering with the relevant Customs Authority.

If you trade with the EU these 2 documents will help you prepare for these changes so you can continue to trade. Whether you’re completing the customs declarations yourself or have an intermediary to do it for you, these guides will take you through each step and set out your options.

How to import goods from the EU into Great Britain from Jan 2021

How to export goods from Great Britain into the EU from Jan 2021

A guide to how the border with the European Union will work after the transition period.

On 1 January 2021 the transition period with the European Union will end, and the United Kingdom will operate a full, external border as a sovereign nation. This means that controls will be placed on the movement of goods between Great Britain and the EU.

To afford industry extra time to make necessary arrangements, the UK Government has taken the decision to introduce the new border controls in three stages up until 1 July 2021.

You can record goods in your own records and make a supplementary declaration up to 6 months later. You will not need to submit an entry summary declaration.

If you’re importing standard goods into Great Britain from the EU between 1 January and 30 June 2021, you:

• can use ‘entry in the declarant’s records’ without getting authorisation in advance
• do not need to make an entry summary declaration

You’ll need to:

1. Record the goods in your own records.

2. Account for the VAT in your VAT Return if you’re VAT registered.

3. Make a supplementary declaration up to 6 months after the goods were imported.

You or someone who does your import declarations for you will also need to have the following in place before you make your first supplementary declaration:

EU market: New guidance on what you need to do to comply with regulations on manufactured goods you place on the EU market from 1 January 2021 has been published.

GB market: New guidance on what you need to do to comply with regulations on manufactured goods you place on the GB market from 1 January 2021 has been published.

Find out more here

The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year.

This page tells you what you'll need to do from 1 January 2021. It will be updated if anything changes.

You can also read about the transition period.

1. UK qualified lawyers with businesses in the EU, EEA-EFTA and Switzerland

If you are a UK lawyer with ownership interests in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland you need to contact the local regulator for specific advice.

2. EU and EFTA qualified lawyers with businesses in England, Wales or Northern Ireland

If you are a Registered European Lawyer (REL) or a lawyer with qualifications from EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein (EEA-EFTA), you need to take one or more of the following actions before the end of the transition period to continue to own, or part own, a legal services business in England, Wales or Northern Ireland:

• requalify in England, Wales or Northern Ireland

• become a Registered Foreign Lawyer in England and Wales

• make the necessary changes to your practice or business structure to comply with the new regulatory arrangements.

For those within scope of the Swiss Citizens’ Right Agreement you have until 31 December 2024 to register as a REL or requalify as a solicitor in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

EU or EFTA lawyers and RELs who own or part own regulated legal services firms in England, Wales or Northern Ireland should contact the relevant regulator for specific advice.

RELs who own unregulated legal services businesses in the UK should contact the relevant regulator for specific advice.

3. Employing lawyers from the EU, EEA and Switzerland until 31 December 2020

There will be no change to the way EU, EEA and Swiss citizens prove their right to work until 31 December 2020. Irish citizens will continue to have the right to work in the UK and prove their right to work as they do now, for example by using their passport.

You can find more information in the guidance on employing EU, EEA and Swiss citizens.

Businesses in England, Wales or Northern Ireland employing EU, and/or EEA-EFTA lawyers should contact their relevant UK regulator for specific advice.

4. Scotland

Legal services business owners in Scotland should contact the relevant Scottish regulators - see further information for specific advice.

5. Further information

• The European Commission’s Communication on readiness at the end of the transition period between the European Union and the United Kingdom

• The European Commission’s ‘Brexit Readiness Checklist’ for companies doing business with the UK

• The Solicitors Regulation Authority

• The Law Society

• The Bar Standards Board

• The Bar Council

• The Law Society of Northern Ireland

• The Bar Council of Northern Ireland

• The Law Society of Scotland

• The Faculty of Advocates

There will be guaranteed changes from 1 January for businesses as we start our new relationship with the EU, and there are many actions you can take today to prepare. Find out what you need to do by visiting gov.uk/transition and using the checker tool.   

These are challenging times, however it is vital that your business prepares now for our new relationship with the EU, outside of the single market and customs union.  

There are 80 days until the end of the transition period and there will be no extension, so you need to act now. 

Regardless of whether we reach a trade agreement with the EU, from 1 January there will be guaranteed changes to: 

• the way businesses import and export goods;  

• the process for hiring people from the EU; and 
• the way businesses provide services in EU markets. 

 Help is available, and as Business Secretary, I encourage you to:  

1.  Check what actions you need to take by visiting gov.uk/transition. 
2.  Sign-up for updates.  
3.  Attend government webinars for additional support, you can sign-up to attend BEIS webinars now.  

Unless you take action, there is a risk business operations will be interrupted. You should also check with your suppliers and customers that they are taking action.   

Businesses will play an essential role in ensuring a smooth end to the transition period, and the government and I will be there to support you as we embark on the UK’s new start.