Businesses qualifying for the grant under the Brexit Support Fund only have until 30 June 2021 to make a claim.
You will be eligible to claim if your business has up to 500 employees and not more than £100 million annual turnover.
You can use the grant for specific import and export related aspects including VAT, excise and rules of origin.
Small businesses that trade with the EU can now apply for a grant through the SME Brexit Support Fund for help with importing and exporting.
The fund provides grants of up to £2,000 to small and medium-sized enterprises for training or professional advice to help meet their customs, excise, import/export VAT or safety and security declaration requirements.
Recent HMRC guidance confirmed that applications can now be made online and that the closing date is 30 June 2021, so any eligible businesses should claim as soon as possible. It also states that the fund may close for applications earlier if all funds are allocated.
Applications can be made for a training grant, a professional advice grant, or both, but the total amount of funding requested cannot exceed £2,000.
A new timetable for introducing import border control processes was recently put in place, enabling UK businesses to focus on recovery. Full import border control processes will now be introduced on 1 January 2022, six months later than originally planned.
What can I use the the SME Brexit Support Fund for?
Recipients can use the grant for training on: -
How to complete customs declarations;
How to manage customs processes and use customs software;
Specific import and export-related aspects including excise, VAT and rules of origin.
Who will be able to apply?
Your business must: -
Be established in the UK;
Have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting the application, or currently hold Authorised Economic Operator status;
Not have previously failed to meet its tax or customs obligations;
Have no more than 500 employees;
Have no more than £100 million turnover;
Only import or export goods between Great Britain and the EU, or move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, if you already import or export goods from or to a non-EU country you are not eligible for this grant.
In addition, your business must either: -
Complete (or intend to complete) import or export declarations internally for own goods;
Use someone else to complete import or export declarations but needs additional capability internally to effectively import or export (such as advice or rules of origin or advice on managing supply chain).
Further details and how to apply can be found here SME Brexit support fund — Customs Grant Scheme (customsintermediarygrant.co.uk)