HMRC has made funding of £50 million available to enhance its Customs Grant Scheme.
Organisations can apply for funding to reimburse a number of costs associated with increasing their capacity and enhancing their ability to complete customs declarations, ahead of the new rules from 1st January 2021. This is the date of the end of the transition period following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Eligible organisations can apply for funding for recruitment, employee training and IT in preparation for additional customs declarations. Eligible organisations include traders and customs intermediaries (such as customs brokers, fast parcel operators and freight forwarders) who make or intend to make customs declarations for their own goods or on behalf of others.
Organisations that recruit, train and place apprentices into customs intermediaries or other organisations that undertake customs declarations activity are also eligible to apply.
All eligible organisations that are currently and have been based in, or with a branch in, the UK for at least a year can apply for all elements of the grant.
The scheme closes for applications on 30th June 2021, or earlier if funding is fully allocated. Grants will be issued on a first come first served basis. Applications are subject to eligibility criteria and funding Terms and Conditions.
Please note, qualifying expenditure must have been made or committed to on or after the announcement of the additional £50m funding on 12th June 2020. The scheme eligibility criteria and funding level may be periodically reviewed and updated.
For more information on the three types of grant available please see Recruitment grant, Training grant and IT grant.
Organisations that want to apply for funding can do so either online or by a paper-based application form.
You can register for the grant at https://customsintermediarygrant.force.com/s/Registration
