New customs system may not be ready for Brexit, NAO warns

The UK's new system for handling customs checks may not be ready by the time it leaves the EU, the public spending watchdog has warned. As a member of the EU's customs union, the UK does not impose taxes or require customs declarations on goods from other member states - but as part of Brexit ministers plan to leave the customs union and negotiate a new arrangement in its place. Revenue & Customs estimates this will mean the number of annual customs declarations will rise from 55 million to 255 million after March 2019, with an estimated 180,000 traders making customs declarations for the first time. Speaking ahead of the report's launch, NAO head Sir Amyas Morse said there was "Very little flexibility" in plans for the new customs system and that HMRC was not being given the support it needed to put strong backup plans in place. "We took the decision to bring in a new declaration system before the EU referendum, but the service remains fully capable of dealing with how the UK's exit from the EU will impact on customs declarations at the border."

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