Traders must be established in the UK for Freight Forwarders to act as a ‘Direct Representative’.
From a Freight Forwarder’s perspective one of the largest potential problem areas that will stem from the increase in customs entry work, following the UK’s departure from the EU on 1 Jan 2021, relates to Representation and Establishment.
Wherever possible BIFA encourages Members, when also acting as a Customs Broker, only to undertake customs entry work as the Direct Representative of the Trader, on whose behalf they are preparing customs declarations. To act as a Direct Representative a Customs Broker must be empowered by the Trader on whose behalf they are acting, and that trader must be ‘Established’ in the United Kingdom.
Many Members have enquired what is meant by the term ‘Established or Establishment’. It is not an official Customs term, but a Corporate term, and the following link highlights the meaning of this definition https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-established-in-the-uk-or-eu-for-customs.