Aberdeenshire MP Richard Thomson urges public and business to feed in to HMRC consultation
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Gordon MP Richard Thomson has urged businesses and members of the public with views on how the operation of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) could be improved to take part in a consultation which has opened.
Businesses, traders, and the public are being invited to give their opinion on how the customs system is working and what improvements they would like to see.
Commenting Richard Thomson said: “While I would encourage anyone with a view on the operation of the UK’s customs system to make that view known to the consultation, the inescapable fact is that the UK customs system has been made extremely cumbersome and user-unfriendly by Westminster’s pursuit of Brexit.
“Businesses are suffering from an increase in bureaucracy and delays, while consumers are faced with tariffs slapped on goods they have ordered from abroad.
“The current arrangements in place as a result of Brexit have been done in such an incompetent manner that even the much talked-about 'UK internal market' has largely ceased to exist with restrictions being introduced on what trade is possible with our neighbours in Northern Ireland.
“While the obvious answer from Scotland’s point of view is management of our own affairs, this consultation gives an opportunity for businesses and constituents in the north-east to let the UK Government hear their views on their experiences with HMRC’s customs arrangements.”
This call for evidence is likely to be of most interest to traders, intermediaries, freight forwarders, fast parcels operators and hauliers, and will also be of interest to business representative organisations, trade bodies or customs consultancies that help traders with their customs affairs.
Details of how to respond to the consultation can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-an-independent-customs-regime
