Are you eligible for an SME Brexit Support grant? And how long do you have left to apply?

If your business is classified as a small-to-medium size enterprise, and has been affected by Brexit, then you could be eligible for grant of up-to £2,000. But you do not have long left to apply for it – the SME Brexit Support Fund is only open for applications up until the end of this month (June 30^th 2021). Making the most of all the support available to you is always a sensible strategy in business – but facing Brexit uncertainty and the fallout of a global pandemic, it is more important than ever to ensure you are using all the options available.

The SME Brexit Support Fund provides grants of up-to £2,000 specifically to help with the costs of additional administration required to move goods between Europe and the UK. However, not all businesses are eligible for it. To be eligible, you must employ no more than 500 people and have an annual turnover not exceeding £100 million. You must also have been established in the UK for at least a year (or hold an Authorised Economic Operator status). You must have met your tax or customs duty liabilities. You must be either intending to complete your own import or export declarations internally, or require further assistance despite using an external service provider to deal with such declarations. Finally, you must, of course, be incurring the additional costs identified in this paragraph’s opening sentence.

Assuming you are awarded a grant, you are allowed to use it in the following ways:

• For training in the completion of customs declarations
• For training in the management of customs processes and using customs software and systems
• For training in specific import and export related aspects, including VAT, excise duty, and rules of origin
• To purchase professional advice regarding excise duty, import VAT or safety and security declaration requirements

To learn more about SME Brexit Support Fund grants, or start your application, you can visit the governments site here. We want to reiterate that you shouldn’t wait to take your next steps – applications for these grants are only open until June 30th 2021.  Alternatively, for expert business advice on this or any other issue relating to Brexit, you can contact our friendly and professional team on 0121 456 0190.