EU says Boris Brexit deal means customs forms for exports from Northern Ireland to GB
BORIS JOHNSON was wrong to claim there would be “no forms, no checks, no barriers” for goods travelling from Northern Ireland to Great Britain under his Brexit deal, according to European Union sources.
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Casting fresh doubts over the Prime Minister’s knowledge of the withdrawal agreement, shipments leaving the bloc’s customs union via the province will be expected to be accompanied by “pre-departure declarations”, an EU official said. During a visit to Northern Ireland, Mr Johnson told Conservative party members that he would not enforce checks arising from the proposed customs border in the Irish Sea. He promised businesses would not face any extra red tape or bureaucracy when exporting to the rest of the United Kingdom.
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“You will have unfettered access,” he told the group.
In a video of the meeting, businessman Irwin Armstrong asked the Prime Minister if he could tell his employees “we will not be filling in any customs declarations for goods leaving Northern Ireland to go to GB”.
Mr Johnson replied: “You can. If somebody asks you to do that, tell them to ring up the Prime Minister and I will direct them to throw that form in the bin.”
But European sources have rejected Mr Johnson’s reading of the withdrawal agreement, and insist goods exiting the customs union via Northern Ireland will be subject to the bloc’s usual checks and paperwork.
An EU official said: “Northern Ireland will continue to apply the Union’s Customs Code and remain aligned to those rules of the single market in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.”
They added: “The Union Customs Code includes pre-departure declarations and export formalities.”
The European Commission said the UK would be expected to uphold the bloc’s customs code “in full accordance with international obligations”.
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Under the withdrawal agreement, the European Court of Justice will continue to have jurisdiction over matters of “Union law” – including the bloc’s customs code.
The EU demands the so-called “pre-departure declarations” are so customs officials can carry out “risk analysis for security and safety purposes”, and can be carried out using “existing electronic data-processing techniques”.
There are a number of exemptions but an “exit summer declaration has to be lodged” instead, according to Union Customs Code.
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Last year the European Commission told the Government it owes £2.4 billion in customs duties after failing to properly enforcing the bloc’s customs code.
Brussels accused the UK of not doing enough to prevent fraud by implementing the necessary levies on shoes and textiles imported from China, in a case that dates back to 2017.
Last week, Mr Johnson was pressed on the comments he made during his trip to Northern Ireland.
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The Prime Minister told reporters last Friday: “Northern Ireland and the rest of GB are part of the UK customs territory and there can be no checks between goods operating in one customs territory.
“We’re the UK – we will not be instituting such checks.”
Responding to the video on Twitter, Sir Keir Starmer wrote: “Boris Johnson either doesn’t understand the deal he has negotiated or he isn’t telling the truth… Probably both.”
