The first trucks leaving the United Kingdom by ferry arrived this Friday, January 1, 2021 at 10:15 a.m. on French soil at the port of Calais. They were on board a ferry from the P&O Ferries company which was the first landed in France in the new post-Brexit era, which began at midnight, when the UK officially left the single European market, resulting in the return of customs formalities for all trade in goods between the UK and the European Union.
Of the 35 trucks that were on board the ferry the “Pride of Kent”, three took the “orange line”, that is to say they were subjected to additional controls in the customs parking lot. HGVs whose customs documents are incomplete or poorly completed, for example, are directed to this line. Customs then carry out checks.
Checks can also be made by SIVEP, the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service. The other trucks for which the customs documents do not present any difficulties have passed through the “green file”.
The United Kingdom having officially left the single market of the European Union on January 1, carriers must now make a prior declaration for customs services, with 84 boxes to fill in! A bit like the electronic toll system, a bar code is provided to them.
During the crossing, the customs services check the declarations and assess the need to carry out checks. This is how it was decided to either let the trucks leave by the green line without additional checks or to direct them to the orange line for other checks.
Companies must declare their goods to customs upstream of transport, in both directions, for transport to and from the UK. This is what we call the “smart border”.
Near 200 trucks also used the Channel Tunnel on this night from December 31 to January 1 “no problem” according to the management of Getlink, which operates the tunnel. Today, 70% of trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union passes through Calais and Dunkirk. On average, 60,000 passengers and 12,000 trucks pass through it daily.
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