With 101 days until the UK leaves the European Union, the state of play remains extremely unclear. But the government has reported that it is ramping up preparations for a hard or so called ‘no deal Brexit’. That’s where the United Kingdom will cease being member of the EU without a transition period or a full deal governing the future relationship.
With the parliamentary maths looking unfavourable, and the European Commission declining to renegotiate, it is looking increasingly likely that the no deal Brexit scenario will become reality on 29th March 2019.
Cabinet agreed that with just over three months from our exit from the EU, we have now reached the point where we need to ramp up these preparations. This means we will now set in motion the remaining elements of our no-deal plans. Cabinet also agreed to recommend businesses ensure they are similarly prepared enacting their own no-deal plans.
– Spokesperson, HM government
What isn’t yet entirely clear yet is exactly what the government means to do or expects British businesses to get planning on yet. But hopefully that will become clear in the weeks to come. Citizens will reportedly be informed how to prepare through a “range of channels” that will likely include TV adverts and social media. Ministers have also agreed to allocate funds for preparation from a £2bn contingency fund to departments such as the Home Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Specifically with relation to business, the HMRC says it will prepare a 100-page pack for all UK businesses on how you should prepare for no deal. Needless to say, the UK government has already made a number of contingency plans and published advice on a no deal Brexit situation and we’ve written about some of them already on Tamebay:
UK Government advice on EU imports after a ‘no-deal Brexit’
Government releases ‘No-deal Brexit’ advice for businesses exporting to the EU
Rather astonishingly, amongst this published papers, there isn’t one specifically dedicated to ecommerce and online retail.
One Response
Cannot wait for HRMCs 100 page pack full of confusing information, that’s bound to be a riveting read.