CHARTERED Accountants Wylie & Bisset has issued a final reminder to businesses to apply for a Customs Grant.
With the deadline for applications expiring on 31st January, the firm has warned that the fund is nearing full allocation and urged eligible businesses to apply as soon as possible.
The Customs Grant Scheme was established to help businesses prepare for the new customs arrangements which came into effect from 1 January. It provides financial support for employee training and IT improvements linked to customs declarations.
Catherine Livingstone, director at Wylie & Bisset said: “Provided you meet certain eligibility criteria, HMRC can provide funding towards the costs of a new training project, investing in your IT, trainingyour staff, and the costs associated with recruitmentto improve your organisation’s capacity and efficiency.”
The three different types of grant available through the Customs Grant Scheme are: grants for trader training; grants for IT, training and recruitment and grants for a co-funded training project.
Grants for trader training up to £1,000 aim to cover the cost of staff training to gain an understanding of customs declarations and customs processes. Eligible businesses must be either importing or exporting goods to the EU after 1st January 2021.
Grants for IT, training, and recruitment up to 200,000 Euros are available to businesses trading with the EU after Brexit or intermediaries who intend to complete declarations on behalf of businesses. These grants can cover up to 100% of the cost of training, 100% cost of IT and up to £15k per new recruit towards salary and recruitment costs.
Grants for a co-funded training project up to 2 million Euros are available for traders or intermediaries who can apply for between 50-70% of eligible costs of a new training project. Eligible costs can include costs of trainers’ and trainees’ salaries for the time they participate in training, externally provided training and advisory services linked to the training project.
Ms Livingstone said: “I would urge any business that thinks it might be eligible to apply for a grant as soon as practicably possible.”
Businesses can apply for a Customs Grant directly at www.customsintermediarygrant.co.uk or contact their professional advisor for guidance.
