Brexit advice

Resources and advice for craft businesses, makers and galleries following the UK leaving the EU

Discarded coils, Jane Yarnall, ceramic, 2021.

Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU on 31st December 2020, new rules are now in effect that impact the craft sector. Read our resource paper for the latest advice and guidance on managing your craft business post Brexit. To request an alternative format of the information provided please email comms@craftscouncil.org.uk

You need to take action if you:

Sell goods to the EU, you must prepare for new customs procedures
Travel to the EU for work purposes, you may need a visa or work permit and must apply if necessary
Import or export goods between GB and Northern Ireland
Employ overseas nationals you will need to prepare for the new immigration system
Receive personal data from contacts in the EEA (EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), you may need to take extra steps to ensure that the data can continue to flow legally
Provide services in the EU, you must ensure that your qualifications are recognised by EU regulations to be able to practise or service clients in the EU

The first step to take is to visit Gov.uk/transition to find out what is relevant to you and your business.

Craft Scotland have published A Maker's Guide to Brexit.

Craft Northern Ireland have also published a Brexit FAQ, including guidance on moving work between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Trading after Brexit

Download the full resource paper

Trading with the EU

We recommend looking at;

Trading after Brexit

Crafts Council have produced a Trading after Brexit resource paper with help and support from DCMS (Department for Culture Media & Sport), BEISS (Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy), HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs), DIT (Department for International Trade), London Business Hub, UPS, Onwardsandup and Briffa legal.

This document includes information on the following areas;

EORI number

Locating your Economic Operators Registration and Identification number and the steps you should follow to trade with the EU.

Duties

Explanations of the duties you may have to pay to trade with EU

VAT

Implications of VAT and the options open to you.

Documentation for EU trading

What you need to include when trading your goods with the EU.

Certification of Goods

Classification of goods and what certification is required when trading with the EU.

Carnet

Requirements when temporarily trading with the EU, for example taking samples of goods to trade shows.

Trading between GB and Northern Ireland

What is involved in the Northern Ireland protocol and how the Trader Support Scheme can help you.

Advisors and funding

Links to industry advisors including export experts and funding grants for business post Brexit.

Download a text-only version

Trading after Brexit resource paper.pdf (2MB)Download

Exporting

EORI and SIC codes

You need an EORI number even if you are only posting goods overseas. To apply for an EORI number you will need a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code.

Apply for an EORI on gov.uk/eori
Find SIC codes at gov.uk/guidance

Trade tariffs, duties and customs

The new trade agreement establishes zero tariffs or quotas on trade between the UK and the EU, where goods meet the relevant rules of origin. Please see gov.uk advice on trade tariffs.

As an exporter you will need to check the rules of the country that you are exporting to. Make sure the goods you are exporting are not restricted and establish what kind of certificate or licence you might need and what duties may be incurred by the importer/client. Use gov.uk checker on duties and customs.

Sending work through Royal Mail

Royal Mail has put together a useful how-to guide. What you will need

Customs declaration form. There is one for under items valued at £270 and one for over this amount.
You would need to attach a copy of the invoice on the outside of the package (details in the guide)
EU & Duties are applicable for items valued over €22.00
Commercial items/goods sent to the EU over €150 may attract VAT, customs duties and a clearance/handling fee.

Calculate Import Duty and Tax Easily with Simply Duty calculator.

Movement of People

For clarification, some EU countries merge work permits and visa's as one, some countries they are separate. For any individual working for longer than 90days in a given year will require a work permit or visa. For those not working for longer than 90days would not, however, we do recommend you check before you plan your travel. For clarification, Trade Fairs & exhibitions, After sales and purchasing would not require a work permit or visa if less than 90 days.

Data

A bridging mechanism is currently in place (for up to 6 months) as negotiations are still occurring. The UK are lobbying the continuing free flow of data. We recommend all businesses and organizations understand their data flows and how they protect their data and show this in their data security policies.

Intellectual property

There will be changes to how the Intellectual Property (IP) system and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will operate. These changes will affect:

Trademarks and designs
Parallel trade from the UK to the EEA
Unregistered designs

You can find out more information about all of these changes in this news story from the IPO.

Help is available to ensure your business is ready;

Consider carefully where to disclose your designs to ensure they have adequate protection in their most important market;
If you export IP-protected goods on the secondary or parallel market, contact the rights holder in the EEA to see if you have permission to continue to parallel export.
Consider if you want exports to continue if you are a business that owns the IP rights for goods currently parallel exported from the UK to the EEA.

If you do not take action, there is a risk your business operations will be interrupted. You can find out what other actions you may need to take by using the checker tool at gov.uk/transition and signing up for business readiness updates.

Many thanks to Briffa Intellectual Property for providing this information for the Crafts Council.

Travel

Three must-have items to make travel viable

a passport with at least 6 months left on it
full travel/third party/health insurance and remember when you get across the channel
turn data roaming on your phone OFF, as data roaming charges will now apply (always check your service network).

Brexit advice

Trading with the EU

Trading after Brexit

Download a text-only version

Exporting

Movement of People

Data

Intellectual property

Travel

Read more

Spring-back talks

Supporting craft businesses

One-to-one maker advice sessions with Crafts Council, 21 May

Creative Links: Brexit for Creative Businesses