The United Kingdom (UK) will be withdrawing from the European Union (EU) on the 31st January 2020. The UK’s Government has a mandate to negotiate a new trade deal with the EU by the 31st December 2020.

This will lead to the UK entering an 11-month transition period to prepare for its new relationship with the EU.

The UK will enter a period, known as ‘the transition’, until 31st December 2020. Although the UK will cease to be an EU member, the trading relationship during this period will remain the same and it will continue to follow the EU's rules. This means that there will be no Customs border between the UK and the EU until the 31st December 2020 and that the current free movement of goods between the UK and the EU will be maintained.

The purpose of ‘the transition’ is to enable the UK and the EU to enter into fresh negotiations to define their future relationship.

A free trade deal will not necessarily eliminate all checks between the UK and EU, after the termination of the transition period.

Possible preparations from the trade sector

EORI Number

The Customs Department is once again, calling on those economic operators who either solely trade with the UK, or who trade exclusively with the UK and the EU, to consider to register and obtain an Economic Operator Registration Identification (EORI) number to be able to lodge declarations for their imports and exports (post-transition period). Economic operators can initiate the EORI registration process by sending an e-mail to:  [email protected].

Further details may be obtained through the following link   

Authorised economic Operator

The Customs Department would also like to, once again, encourage economic operators to apply for an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. There are several trade facilitation incentives that AEOs can benefit from. Additional information can be found on the Customs Department’s website –  www.mtca.gov.mt under the ‘Businesses and Trade’ tab, ‘Authorised Economic Operators’ tab.

Training