This week I was contacted by a retired CEO of a major wine wholesaler. They, unbeknownst to me, had asked their local MP John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare, Somerset) if he thought it was acceptable that my wine business had been obliged to open a site in the EU to mitigate Brexit costs.

HMRC’s decision to delay the switch-off of customs system CHIEF was the inevitable consequence of its failure to adequately support traders in migrating to the new system.

CHIEF is expected to be closed down on 30 September 2022 after almost three decades in operation.