The European Council approved the European Commission’s Customs Action Plan, saying it will make European Union customs operations “smarter, more innovative and more efficient,” a Dec. 21 news release said. The plan, announced in September, includes new measures to support the EU Customs Union, tackle smuggling and combat customs duty fraud, and features a rollout of modern customs equipment and an EU-wide single customs portal (see 2009280023). Although the EC “welcomes” the commission’s plan, it added that “complex challenges in the customs area are best tackled” through cooperation, urging the commission to respect the “competences and the responsibilities of the EU institutions and the member states.” The council agreed that the EU should improve cooperation between customs, police and other law enforcement agencies, and said it welcomes the creation of a group of member states “to consider how to further modernise the Customs Union.”
The European Union and the United Kingdom endorsed a withdrawal agreement that will keep Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods after the Brexit transition period ends Dec. 31, the EU said Dec. 17. The agreement ensures there will not be a “hard border on the island of Ireland,” and goods sold to and from Northern Ireland with the EU will continue to be treated the same as other cross-border goods within the EU, the European Commission said in a guidance. The guidance also addressed value-added tax provisions of the agreement, trade in specific products, export declarations and how long the provisions will remain in effect.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade published a guidance Dec. 16 on duty suspension and tariff quotas that will take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The guidance covers which tariff suspensions and quotas will be carried over from the European Union after the U.K. officially leaves the EU, and how long they will remain in effect.
The United Kingdom issued a guidance Dec. 16 on how it will manage export restrictions when the U.K. experiences supply shortages. The U.K. said it may introduce “temporary” export controls if there are certain shortages or a “risk of a shortage.” Those restrictions may include license requirements, export quotas and limits or bans on exporting a certain product.
The United Kingdom suspended import tariffs on a range of goods used to fight COVID-19, including face masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, face shields and other protective equipment, the U.K. said Dec. 16. While the U.K. had already removed import tariffs from certain protective equipment, it said it “is now going one step further and ensuring there are no additional costs on any items on the World Health Organisation’s latest list of critical goods.” The new suspensions will also extend to “private sector organisations,” the U.K. said, including “care homes” that were paying tariffs pf between 2% and 12% on the goods. The suspensions will take effect Jan. 1, 2021, and will remain in place for one year, the U.K. said.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade issued a guidance Dec. 11 on how the U.K.’s departure from the European Union will affect certain export controls and SPIRE, the country’s online export licensing system. EU regulations for strategic export controls will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, the guidance said, and certain rules for controlled exports will depend on whether they were exported from Britain or Northern Ireland.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade on Dec. 11 updated its guidance on trading with Japan post-Brexit. The guidance, to take effect Jan. 1, now includes an updated statement of origin value threshold “after Japan notified the UK of their waiver limit” under the two countries’ trade deal.
Some United Kingdom exporters may be experiencing delays in applications for three specific open general export licenses (OGEL) because of incorrect information submitted by the applicant, the U.K. said in a Dec. 7 notice. When applying for certain OGELs that require exporters to first obtain an approval letter from the Ministry of Defense (MOD), the applicants must include in their submission the “full contact details” of the Ministry of Defense Project Team that has awarded the exporter its contract. That information must include a telephone number and email address, the U.K. said. “Without this information [the U.K.’s Export Control Joint Unit] MOD will be unable to process the request which will be returned to the requester to provide the missing information,” the notice said. “This will lead to a delay in the exporter being able to use the OGEL.”
The European Council adopted amendments to its value-added tax regulations to allow member states to suspend VATs on certain products and services related to treating the novel coronavirus, the council said Dec. 7. The decision will allow member nations to temporarily exempt VATs or apply a “reduced rate” on COVID-19 vaccines, testing kits and “closely related services.” The measures apply only to vaccines authorized by the European Commission or member states and test kits that comply with European Union regulations. EU member states unanimously adopted the new rules, the commission said, which will give members “better and cheaper access” to the products. The amendments will apply until Dec. 31, 2022.
The United Kingdom on Dec. 1 published its report on the country’s “strategic export controls work” during 2019, detailing export licensing data, relevant legislation, industry outreach activities, enforcement information and case studies. The annual report is normally published by summer but was delayed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.K. said.