Portsmouth based customs agency Portico recruits extra staff to support Brexit transition

WITH 90 days to go before the Brexit transition period ends, Portsmouth based customs agency, Portico, has expanded its team to help the estimated 145,000 businesses who'll need to complete customs paperwork.

By Neil Fatkin

Published 30th Sep 2020, 21:09 BST

Updated 1st Oct 2020, 10:13 BST

Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

From agriculture products to parts for x-ray machines, anyone importing and exporting goods to and from the EU will need to complete full customs declarations, regardless of whether a UK-EU trade deal is agreed.

TSB Hayling Island branch to close as part of national restructuring programme

For many businesses it will be the first time they have had to complete such paperwork.

Portico customs agency manager, Daphne Comber.

Portico customs agency manager, Daphne Comber.

To support the process, Portico customs has recruited 17 additional staff to handle some of the additional 400m customs declarations expected from UK businesses.

Daphne Comber, Portico customs agency manager, commented: ‘We’re committed to supporting efficient UK trade and with changes to the imports and exports to and from the EU, this could mean businesses might have to face dealing with custom declarations for the first time.

‘It can be a daunting and complicated process. Fortunately we handle thousands of customs declarations and have the right systems to talk to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to make sure goods reach their destinations without delay.

‘We know how important it is that goods reach manufacturing plants or supermarket shelves quickly. Companies import and export such a variety of products from the EU that we all use one way or another in our daily lives, so we'll make sure there aren't any hold-ups.’

SEE ALSO: Pompey midfielder Ben Close teams up with South Western Railway to highlight the importance of wearing face masks

Changes to imports and exports will take place over six months from January 1 to give businesses time to adjust.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.

Portsmouth Brexit Ben Close

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.