Businesses up and down the UK have recently been receiving a letter from our beloved HMRC about EORI numbers, which stands for Economic Operator Registration and Identification (numbers).
The first sentence happily tells everyone that “The United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union at 11pm on 29th march 2019”. Well, at least they know what’s happening, because we don’t and neither do that bunch of bickering children in parliament. It goes on to inform us of three actions every business should take. One of those is to register for an EORI number if you want to continue to trade with EU after 29th March 2019 and the UK leaves without a deal.
The question that arose was “Do we need an EORI number if we trade with the EU and there is no physical product?”
The answer is “no”.
You will only need an EORI if you import or export physical goods across the border because the number is used for clearance of the goods.
If you need one, go here. The exact application procedure depends on your VAT situation.