UK companies to enrol in customs system for post-Brexit trading

LONDON -- Companies in Britain will be automatically enrolled in an important customs system to trade post-Brexit, British Chancellor Sajid Javid announced on Wednesday.

According to a joint announcement of British Treasury and Revenue & Customs, in the next two weeks, more than 88,000 VAT registered companies across the country will be allocated an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, to enable them to keep trading with customers and suppliers in the European Union (EU) after Brexit.

EORI numbers are a unique ID number allocated to companies that enables them to be identified by British customs authorities to move goods into or out of the EU after Brexit. A total of 72,000 companies in Britain have already registered for EORI numbers, said the government.

Javid said there can be no time for the delay of preparation to leave the EU on Oct 31, and that is why British customs authority has allocated thousands of businesses with a trading number, to ensure they can continue to trade their goods through Europe from day one.

"This will help ease the flow of goods at border points and support businesses to trade and grow," the chancellor added.