£50m grant scheme now open

Applications are now open to access £50m of funding to boost UK customs intermediaries

[Update 17 March 2021: This grant scheme is now closed]

HMRC and PWC have announced that intermediaries can now apply for funding from the £50m grant scheme in order to increase their capacity to make customs declarations and to help meet increased demand at the end of the transition period on 1 January 2021.

HMRC have acted on feedback from stakeholders and applicants and changed the structure of the grant scheme in order to improve it.

Eligible organisations include those that operate as, or intend to operate as:

• Customs intermediaries (such as customs brokers, fast parcel operators and freight forwarders);
• Traders who make their own customs declarations; and
• Organisations which recruit, train and place apprentices into businesses to undertake customs declarations.

Your organisation must also have been established in the UK for at least 12 months prior to application.

The grant supports:

• Costs associated with recruitment and hiring of new employees to complete customs declarations or other declarations required to complete customs processes;
• Training costs for organisations who complete customs declarations; and
• Funding for IT which is directly related to increasing capacity or productivity within the customs brokerage function.

Applications are considered on a first come, first served basis. The scheme is currently set to run until 30 June 2021, or when the funds are allocated. Early applications are encouraged to avoid disappointment.

If you have an open application that you have created but not yet submitted, you have until 5 August 2020 to do so.

For further information, visit the PWC website FAQ page here.

If you are a grant holder looking for a customs training provider, we can design a training package specifically for your business. Please visit our Customs Training page, or contact us for more details.