 Op 29 maart 2019 zal het Verenigd Koninkrijk uittreden uit de Europese Unie. Dit betekent dat op het moment dat het Verenigd Koninkrijk niet langer deel uitmaakt van de Europese interne markt en de douane-unie, het vrije verkeer van goederen eindigt, en zal zorgen voor extra administratieve verplichtingen.
Momenteel worden we gebombardeerd met informatie over de Brexit m.b.t. Vergunningen, Dual-Use en Strategische Goederen informatie, Tarief Preferenties etc. Waar je als ondernemer nu met een contract en btw-aangifte zaken kan doen met het Verenigd Koninkrijk, moet je na Brexit rekening houden met minimaal 7 extra formaliteiten. Heeft u niet alle documenten op orde, dan staat u stil bij de grens. Dat kan al op 30 maart 2019 het geval zijn. Denkt u al aan de gevolgen voor uw bedrijf, en staat u stil bij de volgende zaken zoals:
Voor veel mkb’ers is zakendoen met een ‘derde land’, en de daarbij behorende douaneformaliteiten een nieuw fenomeen. Ongeacht de aard en omvang van de handel, heeft iedere ondernemer hiervoor een EORI-nummer nodig. Dit nummer is gratis aan te vragen via de site van de Douane en MOET u dus op voorhand al geregeld hebben. Brexit kan ernstige financiële gevolgen hebben, vooral voor de midden- en kleinbedrijven. Ondernemers die niet de juiste papieren hebben, kunnen letterlijk voor een dichte slagboom komen te staan. Ook komen er, naast 13,4% aan invoerrechten, extra douanekosten, voorraadkosten en eventuele sectorspecifieke markttoegangsvereisten lange wachttijden en oponthoud aan de grens. Dit alles werkt behoorlijk prijsverhogend. Rekent u deze kosten door aan uw klant? Of deelt u de pijn samen met uw leverancier en afnemer? Ruim 77.000 Nederlandse bedrijven krijgen te maken met Brexit. Deal or no deal. Er is pas zekerheid als het voorlopig akkoord door alle partijen is bekrachtigd. Wij kunnen samen bekijken of u wellicht in aanmerking komt voor een subsidie en kunnen u direct adviseren bij de aanvraag van een Brexit voucher. Dit kan uw bedrijf helpen bij hogere kosten en de minimalisering van extra kosten ten gevolge van de Brexit. Impact van BTW en BREXIT Een van de adviezen die de Belastingdienst nu geeft is: ‘Vraag btw-verlegging aan voor uw invoeraangiften na de Brexit’. Waarom? Nederlandse ondernemers moeten dan btw gaan betalen over goederen die zij uit het VK invoeren. Zonder de zogenoemde artikel 23-vergunning WOB (Wet op de Omzetbelasting) moet een ondernemer elke keer dat er goederen worden geïmporteerd, een aangifte doen en btw betalen bij de Douane. Mét een vergunning artikel 23 WOB hoeft u de btw pas te betalen bij uw eerstvolgende btw-aangifte. Deze vergunning kunt u aanvragen bij de Belastingdienst onder de zoekterm ‘artikel 23’. Houd u er rekening mee dat de behandeltijd en de toekenning een wettelijke termijn heeft van 8 weken? Een goede voorbereiding voor uw douanezaken op Brexit kost 2 maanden tot ruim 1 jaar. Dit hangt af van hoe u aangifte gaat doen; doet u dit zelf of besteedt u het uit aan een douanevertegenwoordiger? Als u zelf de douane aangiften gaat doen, is de voorbereidingstijd het langst. Als u te lang wacht met voorbereidingen kunnen deze tijden nog oplopen want uiteraard als het zover is, zijn er nog velen met u die eigenlijk te lang hebben gewacht in de hoop dat Brexit alsnog zou worden afgeblazen door het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Bedrijven MOETEN zich daarom nu goed voorbereiden op alle mogelijke scenario’s. De Rijksoverheid is deze week zelfs een nieuwe campagne rond Brexit gestart. Tijdens een Masterclass Brexit op 7 maart a.s. worden deze scenario’s stap voor stap doorgenomen, zodat u weet wat u moet regelen om onnodige onkosten, oponthoud aan de grens en de markttoegangsvereisten die wellicht op uw goederen en diensten van toepassing zijn, vóór te zijn. Ynke Ooijkaas van Boonk Van Leeuwen Advocaten, Marieke Vavier van Port Solutions Rotterdam en Hadassah Vorm van ORA Offshore Customs Consultancy geven handen en voeten aan deze voorbereidingen in de Masterclass Brexit. Zorg dat Brexit uw bedrijf niet in de weg zit! Meld u nu aan voor de Masterclass Brexit via deze link.
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 An often unknown/un- or miss-managed legal issue. In the context of this activity, an operator in international trade must, in his relations with Customs, perform certain customs formal operations
and declarations. For one year (as of 1stof July 2017) new, additional and far-reaching requirements now apply to customs representation. In practice, however, it is not clear to everyone what these new requirements directly mean in practice. Those requirements are not only meant for freight forwarders and logistic service providers who make customs declarations for third parties, but also for departments within a group that provides customs documentation for a sister company who also must comply to these rules as well. In all cases of representation this is only possible with due regard for a whole set of conditions. The most important differences compared to the past There are 3 different ways to prepare customs documentation for another party:
In case of direct or indirect representation you act as a customs representative, with the most important differences listed as follows:
What are the conditions for admission? In the Netherlands, all customs representatives must comply with the AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) criteria to represent another party directly or indirectly with:
AEO-criteria In consultation with the branch organizations, the AEO criteria have been elaborated specifically for customs representatives. The demands placed on a trade and transport administration and practical professional competence have been worked out and published in the ‘Handboek Douane, chapter 2.00.00’. The customs authorities have been busy carrying out the reassessments for a while now, and it is partly due to the reassessment (when applicable for your company) of the AEO Certification for companies who already have this Certificate will be converted into a License AEO. So, do not wait for the implementation of the AEO criteria. Checklist requirements for customs declarations
The legal deadline for checking customs documentation by customs authorities at client and direct or indirect representative is 7 years(the so-called CNI) and will therefore always have to be treated with the utmost care. Without complete and proper information from the client, its impossible for any customs broker to make high qualified customs documentation. However, despite how experienced and knowledgeable you and your employees are, it is the client itself who is obliged by the legal representation (Direct or Indirect Representation) to ensure, always, a timely and correct delivery of data to the customs representative to be able to prepare compliant and correct customs declarations.  Form A is now called REX system
The Registered Exporter system REX (Registered Exporter) is the system of certification of origin of goods that applies in the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) of the EU since 1 January 2017. It is based on a principle of self-certification by economic operators who will make out themselves so-called statements on origin. To be entitled to make out a statement on origin, an economic operator will have to be registered in a database by his competent authorities. The economic operator will become a "registered exporter". The REX system was introduced in the GSP rules of origin by the amending Regulation (EU) No. 1063/2010 in the context of the reform of the GSP rules of origin in 2010. General Preferential System (GPS) The European Union grants reduced import duties to specific countries. This is laid down in the General Preferential System (GPS). In order to demonstrate that the imported goods come from those countries, the origin must be proven with a Form A stamped in the country of origin by the authorities. The REX system will replace Form A with a statement on the invoice. This new name for this statement is called 'certificate of origin'. Only registered exporters may use such a certificate of origin. These exporters are included in a database that can be consulted worldwide. The system is gradually being introduced. Who can use the REX system? A registration in the REX system is necessary for:
In a few situations it can be necessary for exporters in the EU to register. As a market participant in the Netherlands, there are currently two situations where registration is necessary.
If there is a shipment with a value up to € 6,000.00 or if a copy of the original certificate of origin is enclosed with the shipment, the registration as an exporter is not necessary. When will the REX system be entered The REX system is gradually being introduced and the target date will be June 30th, 2020 for completion of the conversion. Several beneficiary APS countries have already started to register their exporters. How does the registration procedure work in the Netherlands? In the Netherlands-based exporters or resellers may apply for registration as a registered exporter with an official application form. This registration form can be found on the website of Dutch customs (https://www.douane.nl) and will be judged by the National Origin Team (Landelijk Oorsprong Team LOT) in Arnhem. You can ask questions by e-mail to: [email protected] When a beneficiary country starts to use the REX system, also remains the system of certificate of origin with certificates of origin Form A parallel to REX for a period of 12 (twelve) months. If these twelve months are inadequate to the beneficiary country the system with certificates of origin to replace the Form A with the REX system, is an extension of this period of 12 (twelve) months possible with 6 (six) extra months. The certificate of origin The certificate of origin shall be indicated on the commercial document by the registered exporter. It is important that this commercial document contains the following information:
The certificate can be prepared in English, French or Spanish according to a fixed text. A certificate of origin is valid for 12 months from the date of installation. Replace the certificate of origin In order to not have to mention the original supplier it is possible to replace a certificate of origin for shipment to another Member State or Norway or Switzerland, if the originating products have not yet been declared in free circulation of the EU. The following conditions are attached to the replacement.
Attention: replacement extends not the validity period of the original certificate of origin. The validity period remains 12 months from the date of the establishment of the original certificate. Importing goods from APC countries In the customs declaration for release for free circulation of preferential goods from APS countries must be referred to the certificate of origin, including the date of preparation. If the value of the shipment exceeds € 6,000.00, the registration number of the registered exporter must be mentioned in this declaration. Attention! A registered exporter shall prepare a statement of origin from the date that his registration is valid. A Form A can be used until this date. On the basis of a Form A when issued on or after the date of registration no preference can be requested. Application area of the REX system from January 1, 2017 Angola, Burundi, Bhutan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Micronesia, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Mali, Nauru, Nepal, Niue Island, Pakistan, Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tomé & Principe, Chad, Togo, Tonga, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Yemen, Zambia. Application area of the REX system from January 1, 2018 Afghanistan, Armenia, Bolivia, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania. Application area of the REX system from January 1, 2019 Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mongolia, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, Samoa, Senegal, Tajikistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam.  I recently had a very interesting conversation with the Managing Director of one of the worldwide largest offshore companies about customs knowledge inside the company and the logistics service provider with which the company has been doing business for years. He asked me what kind of issues I had experienced in my practice in regard of customs knowledge of certain (logistic) companies.
I told him, that although there is so much information available on the internet through training courses, workshops and information meetings about customs matters, knowledge is superficially present but as soon as the content becomes more complex it stops right there. And we are talking about companies who have already the AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) status. Therefore, the question is: how is this possible, while we are bombarded with information about the Brexit, Permits, Dual-Use and Strategic Goods information, Tariff Preferences etc. Several causes can be identified for this. For the smaller companies are the customs brokers (mostly also certified), but more often employees who have been serving clients for years and working in relation to the company but:
Is this something for which great improvements can be made? Yes, this is possible, and this even MUST be done if you want your company to be compliant and abide by all laws and regulations in the area of customs issues. A while ago I was invited by the University of Liverpool i.c.w. Deloitte in London for a 2-day Customs & Compliance Conference. Not only some of the largest British companies participated but also some of big US companies attended. It was very clear to me that these two countries play a pioneering role in this area. Obviously, we still have many challenges in the EU (think of the BREXIT) and that’s why it is of the utmost importance to provide the people who must carry out the work with all possible customs information by workshops, in-house training or VIP days in which needs in the customs field within the company concerned are clearly coordinated. Because of 'issues of the day', pressure on work, family, sport and other things plus the abundance of information received throughout the day this information must be channeled to keep it manageable and don’t get overwhelmed. That’s exactly why they say: 'You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink'. Practice shows that just only providing the information to read really does not linger. Explained directly from practice by an expert gives people so much more ‘on-hands’ information with immediately improvement of results and it strengthen and support those who must get the job done. Any questions? Please e-mail: [email protected] |
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