Unofficial Brexit Tips: British Government Officials Advise Companies to Move to the EU

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Confiscated UK goods during a customs inspection in the Netherlands: exporting is expensive for the British

Photo: SANDER KONING / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

The responsible ministry for international trade rejected everything on Sunday to the BBC and the newspaper "Observer": It is absolutely not government policy to recommend companies to move to the EU.

All employees are required to adhere to the regulations that will apply after Brexit and to communicate them correctly.

Both media had previously reported that numerous British export companies had apparently received the tip from officials from several ministries, but perhaps to consider a part start-up or an outsourced goods hub for their company on EU territory - in order to deal with the sometimes considerable additional costs after Britain's exit to compensate the EU.

According to "Observer" and the BBC, several companies are already planning such outsourcing, so they can avoid additional customs fees, VAT and a lot of bureaucratic effort.

Jobs are also moving to the EU

An employee of the environment ministry responsible for him told him that a transshipment center in the EU was the only solution, said for example the co-founder of the cheese merchant Cheshire Cheese Company, Simon Spurrell of the BBC.

Since Brexit, every tasting box worth 25 to 30 pounds that is exported to the EU must receive a health certificate issued by a veterinarian for 180 pounds (around 200 euros).

According to its own statements, the cheese merchant has now rejected building a new warehouse in England.

"Instead, we may employ French workers and pay taxes in the EU," Spurrell said.

In the "Observer" two medium-sized companies announced that they would move parts of their business to the EU, including Cambridgeshire-based Horizon Retail Marketing Solutions, a provider of retail supplies and merchandise displays.

Managing director Andrew Moss told the newspaper that he would register an EU branch in the Netherlands in the coming weeks.

A high-ranking official from the Government Department for International Trade (DIT) advised him to do so.

Moss stated that it was a very reasonable conversation.

“What I said to him was: do I have another chance?

He confirmed that he saw no other way.

He told me that what I had thought of was the right thing to do, and he didn't see any other option either, «said the entrepreneur.

"He said he had to be careful what he said, but he was very clear and precise."

Moss told the Observer that the partial move to the EU would probably mean for him too that he would have to lay off employees in Great Britain.

In the Netherlands, however, he would hire new people for it.

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bor / dpa