Brexit is now a certainty and the transition period for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union is set to end on 31st December 2020.

As an importer of goods from the EU, we have taken every step we can with the information available to us. As Government guidance is updated, we will review our processes and revise accordingly.

It is very likely that there will be delays affecting all ports from 1st January 2021 due to customs clearance being required on all consignments into the UK. Clearly, any delays will be outside of our control and as such, we would urge our clients to consider this when placing orders for deliveries due in January 2021 as our standard lead times of 6 weeks may be unlikely to allow for this.

Although customs fees and duties cannot yet be confirmed, it is important to note that any applicable duties and levies shall be payable by the Customer in addition to the price at the applicable rates unless notified otherwise in writing.

We will do everything we can to minimise any disruption and cost and we will update you as we receive further guidance.

It should also be noted that Protocol work with many UK manufacturing partners which will not be affected. We would be very happy to discuss this further with you.

Jo Gibson

Managing Director

23/10/2020