20 Mar 2019
The government has published additional documents containing advice on Brexit for UK small businesses.
According to the government, the information will help business owners to 'understand how leaving the EU may affect their business'. The advisory documents cover a range of issues, from changes to UK-EU trade following Brexit, to alterations to how businesses send and receive personal data from international partners.
Amidst ongoing Brexit uncertainty, the documents urge small businesses to 'prepare now'. Firms that import or export goods to the EU are urged to apply for a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, in order to continue trading with the EU post-Brexit.
Businesses that provide services to or operate in the EU may need to comply with new rules following Brexit. A business could be affected if it has a branch or branches in the EU; it operates in a services sector within the EU; it is planning a merger with an EU company; or if its employees have to travel to EU or European Economic Area (EEA) countries for business.
Meanwhile, businesses that hold intellectual property are warned that they may face changes to their copyright, patents, designs and trademarks following Brexit.
The government is urging small firms to utilise its EU Exit Tool – this can be found here.