If you are a business who imports or exports products overseas, you may be entitled to grant funding to cover the cost of recruiting, training and adapting your business to the new demands of global trade.

The grant funding scheme comes ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period, after which the UK will be free to implement its own trade policies. This will, however, complicate the import and export procedures of many products at the border.

If grant funding could help your business meet this challenge, here’s what you need to know.

What can I get funding for?

The grant funding initiative could help cover the costs of:

• Recruitment, training and IT to help your business to complete customs declarations. This includes the salary costs of new employees, where the new employee started on or after 12 June 2020 and intends to help your business complete customs declarations
• Co-funded training project to help your business complete customs declarations, and/or
• Trader-training to understand customs.

Is my business eligible?

To apply, your business must:

• be currently established in the UK
• have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting the application or hold Authorised Economic Operator status, and
• not have previously failed to meet its tax obligations.

And meet at least one of the following:

• complete or intend to complete customs declarations on behalf of your clients
• be an importer or exporter and complete, or intend to complete, declarations internally for your own goods
• be an organisation which recruits, trains and places apprentices in businesses to undertake customs declarations, and/or
• trade with the EU and do not intend to complete your own declarations, but want to undertake customs training.

How much funding is available?

• Up to £3,000 towards the costs of recruitment for each new employee and up to £12,000 to cover the salary costs of each new employee
• 100 per cent of the actual costs of externally-provided training for your employees, up to a limit of £1,500 for each employee on the course
• Up to a limit of £250 for each employee on an internal course, and/or
• 100 per cent of the costs relating to your IT expenditure to improve the efficiency of making customs declarations.

For help and advice making a claim, please get in touch with our expert Brexit advisory team today.