Hauliers 'illegally dodging customs taxes at Irish border', says report

摘要

Many companies are exploiting a hole in border security between Ireland and Northern Ireland and illegally shifting goods into the UK without paying VAT or customs duties, says a new report. In research illuminating the changing trade regulations on transport and logistics companies, freight outsourcing solutions firm DDC FPO said one post-Brexit trend was the illegal movement of goods across borders. Garth Young, MD at customs broker and intermediary Wellmark Customs and Logistics, said firms had spied a way of saving money in the short term: "They say, 'Look, there's no checks at the border, we just drive in'," he said. "The courts are going to be full at the end of this." DDC FPO said that while HMRC was permitting companies to defer or simplify customs declarations for certain goods during the current six-month grace period, keeping adequate records of all transactions was still required. It said: "Additionally, declarations for controlled goods such as alcohol, tobacco and animals are not eligible to be deferred or simplified. Without the proper paperwork on file, responsible parties can be taken to court, fined, and possibly imprisoned."