The Government has warned that businesses trading with the UK will need a special customs number in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
However, half of those who need it have not yet applied.
The number of Irish businesses that have registered for an EORI number stands at 44,848.
In 2019 to date, 4,803 EORI numbers have been issued to businesses - compared to 2,976 for the whole of 2018.
The Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number will be needed by businesses in order to move goods to, from or through the UK.
When Britain leaves the European Union, it will fall outside the Customs Union as a third country, which means different customs procedural rules will apply.
Businesses that already trade with non-EU countries will already have this customs identification number.
❗️NB❗️
Businesses trading with UK will need an EORI customs number in a no deal #Brexit. Half of those who need it haven’t yet applied - if you are in business look into it immediately.
If you trade with the UK and haven’t got your EORI number, go to https://t.co/0OYQsPyo1e now— Eoghan Murphy (@MurphyEoghan) April 4, 2019
Business Minister Heather Humphreys has stressed the urgent need for businesses to register online with Revenue in order to get their customs identification number.
She said: “While there has been an increase in the number of businesses that have registered for an EORI number, there are still a large number of companies who have not yet done so.
"I strongly encourage those companies to take the few minutes needed to complete this straightforward process through Revenue’s Online Service, ROS”.
The minister said that whether a business is a small engineering company or a large agri-food company, the customs number is a minimum requirement in order to continue trading with the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
"I do not want to see a situation arise where a company finds that it is prevented from trading with the UK due to a failure to complete a simple online registration process.
"Once registered for ROS, the turnaround registration for an EORI number is approximately three minutes”.
Minister Humphreys also noted that that in a no-deal scenario, companies face a very different trading environment.
In terms of new customs procedures, she encouraged businesses to avail of customs advice and training through a number of Government agencies - including Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs).
Enterprise Ireland is also offering free online customs training, while InterTradeIreland is also giving online learning to help businesses understand changed customs procedures.
Business can apply for an EORI number here
