A NEW brokerage service has been launched to help businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire navigate the world of customs when the Brexit transition period ends tomorrow.
The change looks set to increase the number of annual customs declarations from 55million to around 300million with businesses who import and export goods facing an increase in administration.
To help combat this, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has used its reach, expertise and knowledge of the network, to launch ChamberCustoms a compliance-led service being offered to members and non-members for peace of mind.
Started in partnership with the British Chamber of Commerce, it is a ‘One Stop Shop’ with direct links to all sea, air and road ports and terminals in the UK.
Experts will be on hand to offer help as the amount of paperwork required to import and export goods from overseas will increase in both volume and complexity.
Kimberley Towle, as Customs Declarations Officer, will lead the project and train three other members of staff.
Kimberley, who worked in the aviation industry for seven years before moving on to customs compliance, wants to make sure businesses are ready for the changes and confident in what they are doing.
She said: “A lot of work has gone into Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce launching ChamberCustoms and making sure it is there to help and advise businesses during this time.
“Overseas trade is crucial to the economy in our region and, as the EU is our biggest and nearest trading partner, it’s vitally important that companies – no matter how small or large – are ready to do business with Europe as quickly as possible once the rules have changed.
“Customs formalities are challenging and there are many organisations that don’t fully understand where to find all the information, so we are here for them – staff have been trained and we have a network 53 Chambers across the UK that can provide support.”
She added they had already spoken to businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire and several had already signed up for the service.
And she said they expected interest to increase once the transition period ended and businesses saw the additional customs work that would be needed.
Click here for more information about ChamberCustoms or to sign up.
