UK asks Portuguese companies about Brexit fallout

The United Kingdom embassy in Lisbon wants to know the opinion of Portuguese companies on the implementation of the European Union / United Kingdom Trade and Cooperation Agreement (Brexit), according to a questionnaire shared by the Tax and Customs Authority (AT).

“All interested parties are invited to fill out a questionnaire,” reads the information posted on the Finance Portal, assuring that the survey prepared by the embassy “is confidential” and that filling it out “takes just over five minutes” and is available until February 4.

The embassy starts by requesting information about the size of the company and number of employees, business area and percentage of business with the United Kingdom, and to know if there is any member of the company’s staff dedicated to issues related to Brexit or if, if not, it has hired external services for these matters.

Businesses are also asked about any changes in contracts with clients due to Brexit or their views on the information made available on the subject in the transition period of the UK’s exit from the European Union.

On January 31 2020, the United Kingdom ceased to be a member state of the European Union, the Exit Agreement came into force and a transitional period began, which ended on December 31 2020.

The United Kingdom ceased to belong to the Single Market and Customs Union on January 1, 2020, ending the free movement of people, goods, services and capital and introducing changes with an impact on companies regarding the trade of goods and services or registration formalities, effects in Portugal that the embassy now intends to find out through the enquiry.