HMRC is launching a new trade panel to “to better understand the experiences, challenges, and needs of UK businesses involved in global trade”.
The 'traders and intermediaries research panel’ will run from June until October, unless extended, with research firm Ipsos carrying out questionnaires and additional research.
Participation is voluntary, but in a notice to businesses HMRC encourages those selected to join and “help HMRC shape customs policies and processes and improve the quality of support it provides to businesses like yours”.
How it works
Ipsos will be randomly selecting firms from HMRC’s records to participate. If selected, traders are advised they’ll receive a letter inviting them to join the panel.
Those firms will likely receive a phone call from Ipsos’ Edinburgh office in June or July, likely from an 0131 number.
The invitation can be declined, or firms can complete a 15-minute survey confirming company details in order confirm participation.
Participants will be asked to complete quarterly online questionnaires and “other occasional ad-hoc research on relevant topics”.
Selection
HMRC reiterates that selection is random, and firms cannot put themselves forward to participate.
However, it adds that “panel membership will be refreshed on an annual basis, meaning new businesses will be invited to join the panel each year”.
Previous panel
The last round of research published found that physical checks and sanitary and phytosanitary checks were the most disruptive elements of the border experience for traders and intermediaries, with the greatest financial impact.
Documentary checks were reported to be “more frequent” but were typically completed in under four hours. When checks exceeded four hours, they began to incur costs, and this was more commonly the case for physical checks.
Ipsos interviewed representatives from 35 firms between March and May 2024, asking questions about their experience of border checks and delays between 2022 and 2024.
The research addressed how respondents navigated changes introduced as part of the post-Brexit customs regime, but mostly excluded the impact of documentary and physical checks on SPS goods introduced under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM). BTOM documentary checks were introduced 31 January 2024, while physical checks on SPS goods began 30 April 2024.
Additional findings
Researchers also highlighted key trends in both understanding and communication surrounding border delays.
Intermediaries were found to have a stronger grasp of the different types of checks carried out and their rationale, while trading firms, particularly smaller firms, struggled to distinguish between ‘random checks’ and documentary checks that prompt a briefer border delay.
Understanding of checks and how to resolve delays was boosted by receiving written communication from HMRC, rather than a phone call.
Information about delays being shared with drivers was reported as a cause of “misunderstandings and further delays”, given drivers’ “limited understanding” of customs procedures. This made it more difficult for traders and intermediaries to understand issues and resolve them.
