The Eurasian Economic Union Commission completed its customs code harmonization to improve customs clearance time, “service portals,” rules relating to restricted goods, countries of origin and more, according to an Aug. 22 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The move is expected to “clear up the discrepancies and inconsistencies” related to several areas of customs and trade between the Eurasian Economic Union’s member countries: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The move will standardize the average customs clearance time to four hours, define required procedures for establishing exact customs values, list a series of banned goods and more, the report said.

The United Kingdom and South Korea signed a trade continuity agreement Aug. 22 to ensure the countries trade under current terms after a potential no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, the U.K. Department for International Trade said in a press release. Under the agreement, trade would “continue with minimal changes to tariffs and quotas when the UK leaves the EU,” according to a U.K. fact sheet on exporting to South Korea. The U.K. is already covered by a trade deal between the European Union and South Korea, but that could change when and if the U.K. leaves the EU with no transition deal in place.

A man in the Netherlands is suspected of illegally exporting more than 13 tons of waste to Africa and Asia, the country’s Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate announced Aug. 21, according to an unofficial translation. The country said the man had not applied for the proper export license to ship the garbage, which included polyvinyl chloride. Dutch authorities said they searched two properties and seized a company’s business records as part of the investigation. Money-laundering of profits from the operation is suspected as well.

Norway is proposing to amend regulations to simplify customs clearances and the country’s value-added tax system for low-value shipments, according to an Aug. 19 KPMG report. The proposal would repeal VAT exemptions and other “indirect taxes” on imports worth less than about $350. New legislation would leave sellers and “online marketplaces … liable for VAT on cross-border sales of low-value goods to final consumers in Norway,” KPMG said. Online sellers would “register, declare, and pay VAT” on the sales under the new system, KPMG said, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

United Kingdom customs authorities on Aug. 21 announced plans to accelerate Brexit preparations for U.K. traders by automatically registering more than 88,000 value-added tax registered companies for Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers over the next weeks “in order to keep trading with customers and suppliers in the EU after the UK has left.”

In the Aug. 20 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Union’s new EU Customs Trader Portal will debut on Oct. 1, and will for a time run parallel to the current EU Trader Portal before replacing the legacy system entirely, the Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration said in an Aug. 20 news release. Developed by the European Commission, the new portal will allow traders to apply for and manage Authorized Economic Operator certificates and Binding Tariff Information decisions. “If your organisation already has an AEO certificate or BTI, you will soon receive a notification from Customs,” Dutch Customs said.

Britain's Department for International Trade released an Aug. 19 guidance on exporting controlled goods after Brexit, detailing changes exporters may face if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal. The guidance covers exporting military items, firearms, dual-use goods, civil nuclear material and how exporters can best prepare for the changes. The U.K. suggested exporters use the “goods checker” tool to check if they will need an export license when shipping to EU countries.

Lithuania is expanding the list of goods subject to the value-added tax “reverse-charge mechanism," according to an Aug. 9 post by KPMG. VATs will be placed on mobile phones, tablets and laptops until June 30, 2022, and on hard disks until Feb. 28, 2022, the post said. The changes take effect Sept. 1.

The United Kingdom Department for International Trade published guidance Aug. 15 detailing the status of trade agreements that may take effect if it leaves the European Union without a transition deal on Oct. 31. The guidance details trade continuation agreements the U.K. has signed with various countries that will take effect upon a no-deal Brexit, as well as the status of current negotiations for agreements that have not yet been concluded. The guidance will be updated “if anything changes, including if a deal is agreed,” the UKDIT said.