Brexit: Customs Procedures - Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:41 pm on 15 January 2018.

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Photo of Lord Newby Lord Newby Liberal Democrat Leader in the House of Lords 2:41, 15 January 2018

My Lords, the Minister implied in his Answer that because additional requirements were to be dealt with online, there would be no additional cost. Those of your Lordships who have done things online find this a somewhat dubious assertion. Does he accept that for small businesses even doing business with Norway now, which is inside the customs union, involves a significant amount of additional time and that if we are not within the customs union, and certainly being outside the EU, small businesses will need to spend much more time filling in customs forms online? For many, that will make the difference between trade being viable and not viable.