We’ve had months of the C word … Covid.  Now we have the B word… Brexit.  And the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says UK firms are being left with unanswered questions less than a month before the Brexit transition period ends.  

We have been hearing how many of our clients still have ‘insufficient’ information about critical areas, not allowing them to prepare for the change on 1 January 2021.

Afford Bond Director, Paul Edwards, said: “Many British firms are still unaware of what rules of origin will apply to the end of the transition period, which prevents firms from planning, and will potentially create unprecedented new administrative burdens and costs. There is still only limited guidance available on the procedures for the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and there is presently no information on how UK tariff rates quotas will be administered or how businesses can access them beyond the end of the transition period.”

The BCC said: “With just weeks to go, businesses need answers. Posters and television adverts are no substitute for the clear, detailed and actionable information businesses require to prepare for the end of the transition. None of the issues businesses are grappling with are new. They have all been raised repeatedly over the past four years, from tariff codes and rules of origin through to the movement of goods from GB to NI.”

If you need expert accounting advice, Afford Bond Chartered Accountants have offices in Nantwich and Wilmslow and can help you and your businesses navigate a way forward as we head in 2021.