A Pandemic and now Brexit: Give me a break

A few days ago there were 100 days left for taxpayers to file their Tax Returns how do I know? Well HMRC sent an email out remind me and everyone else. Obviously, 100 days had a nice convenient ring to it and it looked and read much better than just over 3 months. So far nothing untoward for any of us, handy little reminder that we have 100 days to get everything done and dusted.

I was contemplating the number of clients that still had not provided me with the necessary information and then I checked into my inbox and I have a section devoted to storing emails from HMRC etc regarding Brexit and it dawned on me that exit from the EU was at the 1st of November only 61 days away which is far more scary than 100 days to the filing deadline because of course I knew all that was necessary to handle the filing deadline but Brexit is a whole other thing as they say.

I checked my stored file and let me tell you it read 8th October 18 emails, 14th October 25 emails, 15th October 8 emails and on the 16th October 19 emails. So over 9 days 70 emails were sent about Brexit.

With trepidation I started looking at the emails and my word did they cover some subjects and by that I mean they were covering subjects that would affect me and my clients in a big way and it seemed almost that no business would be exempt.

Here are just a few of the email headlines for you to see for yourself:

1. Importing and Exporting Plants to the EU from 1st January
2. Exporting Animal and Animal Products to the EU from 1st January
3. Importing and Exporting Live Aquatic Animals from 1st January
4. Exporting Horses and Ponies for 1st January
5. Export Fish to the EU from 1st January
6. The Border Operating Model
7. Importing Animals, Animal Products and Feed of Animal Origin from 1st January
8. Egg Marketing Standards from 1st January
9. Food and Drink Labelling Changes from 1st January
10. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Standards from 1st January
11. Poultry Meat Marketing Standards from 1st January
12. Pet Travel to Europe form 1st January
13. Trading and Labelling Organic Food From 1st January

So that’s 70 emails in 9 days and there were only 61 days to go as I penned this and the emails are still flooding in because so many aspects of business have to be covered. Now these emails are not just one liners, oh no some are significant. As an example, the email entitled “Export or move live animals and animal products to the EU from 1st January 2021” is about 10 pages long and its starts out by telling the reader:

You’ll need to follow different guidance for:

• pets
• horses
• fish and fishery products
• live aquatic animals
• endangered animals
• animals for display, research and conservation (under the Balai directive)”

so 10 pages and it doesn’t even cover horses and fish.

100 days to the filing deadline is not a problem, we have trained for it and we understand what is involved 61 days to Brexit with the lack of preparation, the lack of detail is something else altogether and I for one am not looking forward to the client ‘phone calls.

One email caught my eye and it was this one

“Time is Running out for Businesses to Prepare” which I suppose sums it up.