As mentioned in last week’s news article, those businesses who imported from the EU and made a Simplified Declaration, or have yet to make any declaration at all, you need to be ready to make your full declaration at the 175 days later point. Be careful: If you’re receiving, or have already received goods from the EU, and are not doing full declarations, you are potentially accumulating duty debt and could be subject to HMRC penalties. Filing a Customs Declaration is a legally binding act between the UK Trader and the UK Customs authorities. Unless you are buying under DDP terms (Delivered Duty Paid), as the importer you have the right to choose your customs agent, and also the obligation to report information to HMRC accurately and correctly. Here at Norfolk ChamberCustoms, we have the resource and expertise to support you with your Import and Export Declarations. We have Capacity. On the 25th of June, the Norfolk Chamber’s International Team presented an hour long Webinar, titled “Maximising your international Trade”. Follow this link ,to discover how the Norfolk Chamber can help you with your business’ International needs, and meet the International team that will be looking after you. Also, find attached the ChamberCustoms brochure, which gives you more detail of the Customs Declarations service available to you now.
Norfolk’s leading business to business showcase returns on Thursday 14th October 2021 at Norfolk Showground* – and you can now register for your free fast-track tickets!
The B2B Exhibition is Norfolk’s largest business-to-business exhibition. Free to attend and attracting hundreds of businesses on the day, B2B is a highlight on the Norfolk events calendar.
For visitors, the event gives the opportunity to meet new potential clients, catch up with existing contacts and make connections at this prestigious event. Registering for your tickets now will enable you to avoid the queues on the day so that you can start to connect with businesses straightaway.
At B2B you can:
Meet and connect with over 100 exhibitors in the exhibition hall.
Attend free business workshops and seminars in the Co.llaboration Hub sponsored by Lovewell Blake.
Get free 1-to-1 advice at our Co.mmunicate Hub with Knowledge Hour Live sponsored by Spire Solicitors (booking available soon).
Join in our speed networking sessions throughout the day in the Co.nnected Hub.
Get some fresh air and connect with businesses in our Outdoor Hub sponsored by Credo Asset Finance and Credo Motorsport Finance.
Relax and catch up with colleagues and acquaintances in our Food and Drink Hub sponsored by Proudly Norfolk.
Join us for the B2B after party for drinks, snacks and a good old catch up!
There is also free parking available at the event.
You can register for your free fast track tickets here
*We are doing everything we can to bring you this event in October by following government COVID guidelines. However, due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic we may have to postpone this event at short notice if circumstances arise that are out of our control.
There are now 3 more trading cards to co.nnect with, as our International Team joins our mission to connect, support and give voice to every business in Norfolk.
Have you connected with all 7 of our membership team yet? Team Norfolk Chambers is here and ready to help support you and your business with a range of skills such as making business connections, promoting what you do and how you do it, giving you access to exclusive discounts, helping you make change, and crafting bespoke business support specifically for you.
Now there are 3 more members of the Team to get to know. Introducing our International Team who can help you and your business with the documentation you need to import and export. Julie, David, Adrian and Sam each have their own trading card with a secret superhero name which highlights the key skills that they can offer Norfolk businesses:
Julie Austin (AKA ‘The Oracle’) has the knowledge you need to succeed when it comes to cutting through the red tape of importing and exporting. David Cowan (AKA ‘The Advocator) can bring everything you need to do business overseas together – and what the team cannot do, he will know someone who can, and Sam Martin (AKA ‘The Prodigy’) provides vital support to process, handle and offer advice on documentation needed for importing and exporting.
The International Team joins the Membership Team and together we can help make things happen for businesses like yours. If you need bespoke support for your business – we can provide membership that can be as individual as you are. If you need to increase your customer base – we can connect you to like-minded businesses. If you need to shout about a project/product you have launched – we can amplify your message. If you need exporting advice – we can help you trade globally. If you know what you want to do but don’t know where to start – we can support you through making collaborations.
Each of us have difference skills, but when we co.llaborate we are a unique force for your business. Therefore, we can say with confidence:
It is nearly 6 months since the UK left the EU on 31 December 2020. And as importers and exporters you need to be aware of some looming deadlines. The deadline for making a full declaration for EU imports that arrived after 31 December 2020 is nearly upon us. For those businesses who imported from the EU and made a Simplified Declaration or have yet to make any declaration at all, you need to be ready to make your full declaration at the 175 days later point. To help you prepare, you need to:
Consider what records you should have kept
Know what you steps you need to take now
Ensure that you are following the rules
Know what penalties may be imposed if you get it wrong
Norfolk Chambers is ready to help and is able to support you to get it right first time. We are supporting a ChamberCustoms online webinar on Thursday 03 June from 2pm – 3pm that will help you get the answers you need. If you have imported from the EU since January, the webinar will help you understand your responsibilities and help you stay on track with your declarations from 01 July 2021. Book your place now
Norfolk Chambers of Commerce is proud to announce that Credo Asset Finance and Credo Motorsport Finance will be the sponsors of the Outdoor hub at B2B this October.
Norfolk’s leading business to business showcase returns on Thursday 14 October 2021 at Norfolk Showground* and Norfolk Chambers are delighted to confirm that Credo Asset Finance and Credo Motorsport Finance will be the official sponsors of the Outdoor hub at the show.
The B2B Exhibition is Norfolk’s largest business-to-business exhibition. Free to attend and attracting hundreds of businesses on the day, B2B is a highlight on the Norfolk events calendar.
The Outdoor hub will give exhibitors and visitors the chance to connect and network with a range of businesses throughout the day.
Fran Brown, marketing manager for Credo Asset Finance said: “After years of attending this prestigious event, we know the benefits of what this will bring, including meeting new potential clients and catching up with existing ones! This event is always on the calendar and gives Credo more opportunities to show how we can help other businesses. We have a fantastic stand to showcase this year and we are very excited for you all to see it!”
For exhibitors, the event gives the opportunity to meet new potential clients, catch up with existing contacts and have a presence at this prestigious event.
Alongside exhibitors in the Outdoor hub, you can also meet a plethora of businesses in the exhibition, take part in speed networking sessions throughout the day, go to a free workshop or seminar, relax in the Proudly Norfolk food hub and join us for the B2B after party (ticketed event).
If you are interested in becoming an exhibitor at B2B you can find out how to book your stand here
*We are doing everything we can to bring you this event in October by following government COVID guidelines. However, due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic we may have to postpone this event at short notice if circumstances arise that are out of our control.
We are offering businesses the chance to win a year’s free pass to some of the key business events hosted by Norfolk Chambers.
What you need is what we do, and attending our events will enable you to unlock all the skills and resources of the Norfolk Chambers Team – and so much more!
The prize includes a Norfolk Chamber’s event pass to the value of over £200, with tickets to events such as The Big Debate, Talking Tech, B2B after party, Bank of England event and our money can’t buy Business Leader Event.
To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, head over to our LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram account @NorfolkChamber and let us know in the comments on the competition post: Why would you like to have a Norfolk Chambers event pass for a year?
Please also make sure that you:
Are following us
Like the post
And tag in a business that you think might be interested in a Norfolk Chamber events pass.
The winner will be selected by our senior management team on Monday 31 May.
Terms and conditions
These terms and conditions apply to the ‘Win a Norfolk Chambers Event pass for a year competition promoted by Norfolk Chamber of Commerce (which we will refer to as “Norfolk Chambers”, “we” or “us”).
By entering this competition you agree to abide by this terms and conditions.
By entering this competition you are agreeing to Norfolk Chamber using your comments posted on the competition posts for marketing purposes.
The competition is open to all Norfolk businesses and organisations, including charities and social enterprises.
Entries to the competition excludes Norfolk Chambers employees and their immediate families, or anyone else connected with the promotion.
Businesses can enter the prize draw by following Norfolk Chambers on social media, liking the competition post, tagging in another business, and telling us why they would like to win a Norfolk Chambers of Commerce event pass for a year.
Businesses can enter via the competition post on Norfolk Chambers LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, and can enter via all four platforms, but only once per platform.
The closing date for all entries is Monday 31 May, 2021. All entries received after this date will not be considered. The winner will be chosen from all entries by the Norfolk Chambers senior management team. Their decision is final.
In the event of the winner not taking the prize within 7 days, the senior management team will select another winner from all entries.
We reserve the right the verify the eligibility of entrants and to check their identity.
The prize is a year’s event pass to key Norfolk of Chamber events including: 1 x B2B After-party Ticket – Worth £15, 1 x Big Debate Ticket – Worth £25, 1 x Talking Tech Ticket – Worth £40, 1 x Ticket to Boards on the Broads – Charity donation of £10 made on your behalf, 1 x Ticket to the Bank of England event in November – worth £35, Invites to all Business Leaders Events – exclusive money can’t buy invitation. Total prize value is approx. £200.
We reserve the right to change the total prize value, subject to changes with event ticket prices.
There is no cash alternative.
The winner will have their picture and story published on our e-zine Norfolk’s Voice and will be part of a marketing campaign to promote this.
We reserve the right, acting in our sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant and withdraw/withhold any prize from a winner who:
is found to have abused or tampered with the operation of the competition.
has acted in any manner deemed by us to be in violation of these terms and conditions
is found to be ineligible or fails to provide promptly any requested evidence of eligibility.
fails to respond to a winners notification within 7 days.
If any provision of these terms and conditions is held invalid by any law, rule, order or regulation of any government, or by the final determination of any court of a competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect the enforceability of any other provisions not held to be invalid.
These terms and conditions, its subject matter and its formation, are governed by English law. You and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction in connection with these terms and conditions and your entry into competition (including any claims or disputes).
Promoter: Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, 9 Norwich Business Park, Whitling Road, Norwich, NR4 6DJ.
Behind the scenes: Co.nnect With ‘Em All! Campaign
Norfolk commercial photographer Joe Lenton is the creative force behind our new ‘Co.nnect With ‘Em All!’ campaign that shows how Team Norfolk Chambers can help support your business. We grabbed five minutes with him and discovered a creative photographer who can help businesses communicate through their brand’s imagery.
The creative brief was challenging – create 15 ‘Magnificent 7-meets – Fantastic Four – meets Justice League – meets – ‘you know that BBC Heroes series’ – style portraits, each depicting the different skills and personalities of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce team, that can be used as trading cards for businesses to Co.nnect with…but Joe Lenton rose to the challenge.
As a Norfolk Chambers member, Joe wants to connect with Norfolk businesses who would like to create impactful photography campaigns to communicate their brand more effectively, so what better way to support Joe than by commissioning him to take the photographs for our main campaign this year?
Hello Joe, so before we start this interview, tell us what your ‘superhero powers’ are?!
JL: Haha! Oh I’m not sure! I guess if I were to sum up what I enjoy doing and am best at then it would be working with businesses to help them communicate their key messages through their imagery. I love seeing what they are doing and help them stand out from their competition by giving their imagery a creative twist.
Well you have certainly done this with the Norfolk Chambers team’s portraits – thank you! Would you say that CGI is your signature style?
JL: I see myself as a creative communicator and being able to offer quality creative craftmanship. The CGI adds to this and supports my photography to offer businesses something different. I taught myself how to use CGI during the first lockdown and I have enjoyed experimenting with the many different ways of using this technique in my photography – particularly when shooting products. Many people think of CGI in movies or computer games, but I use it to enhance product photos or portraits. In fact, during lockdown when we couldn’t shoot on location CGI enabled me to create virtual backdrops. It also is perfect for creating product prototypes to save businesses creating them themselves. CGI can save businesses time, money and with less materials and paint used for backdrops it can help the environment too. I am still mainly an advertising photographer, but CGI has become an important tool to be able to call on.
How about the creative portrait scenes in the Norfolk Chambers campaign? How did you create the effects and work with the brief?
JL: The brief gave me quite a bit to work with and combined with the six brand colours of Norfolk Chamber there were a lot of creative elements to get my teeth into! As each of the team members needed to have their own personalities, but had to fit together as a team, I shot each one from a low angle to create that superhero vibe and used the same lighting set up to keep the feel consistent. I used quite contrasty lighting to make it feel more 3D as we see shapes more clearly when the highlights and shadows are more pronounced. In post-production, I used the Chambers’ colours to create smoke, fire, lightening and other effects, which were tailored to the roles and skills of each member of the team. For some, I also created a CGI scene to place them in before adding extra smoke and glowing highlights.
We are certainly honoured to work with you on creating our Team Norfolk Chambers avatars, especially as you have worked with some fabulous Norfolk businesses such as Booja Booja, Jordan Fitness and St Giles Gin – is there a particular sector that you want to work with?
I enjoy working with food and drink producers and manufacturers as I feel that my style of photography can make product shots more impactful. Saying that however, I enjoy the challenge of making anything look interesting, including things that people might consider mundane. Any kind of product can have the potential to look great. I’m a creative image maker at heart so in many ways the more challenging the shoot the better the creative opportunities!
Finally, to keep in with the theme of our Team Norfolk Chambers trading cards, if you had your own trading card what would it say?
Haha! I guess that I would be the ‘Creative Craftsman’ with my top skill being to help communicate through imagery. My strength would be in having the understanding and empathy to project what a business wants to communicate. My weakness would be that I’m a perfectionist. My special power would be using visual language as a powerful communication tool.
Joe Lenton is an advertising photographer and CGI artist who specialises in product photography. If your business needs great pictures from someone who really understands your business needs give him a call! www.joelenton.com 01603 516288.
Get 50% off a professional photography audit with Joe!
Norfolk Chambers Members can get a 50% discount on a professional image audit for their business by Joe Lenton. Find out more on our Member to Member benefits page here
As the country officially starts to unlock and businesses look to return to a more normal trading conditions – it is more important than ever that your voice is heard by Government, the Chancellor and the Bank of England.
How has your business performed in the last quarter, what do you see as the challenges and opportunities going forwards? How confident are you about your financial position, your workforce and your future orderbook?
Without this vital local and regional knowledge they cannot make the right decisions and put relevant support mechanisms in place that will ultimately impact on you and your company.
The QES is anonymous, open to anyone and only takes a couple of minutes to complete online.
We need your input, if you only take one survey, then please make it the QES
Commenting on GDP figures for Q1 2021, published today by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“While the UK economy contracted in the first quarter, the downbeat headline figure masks a renewed momentum through the quarter from January’s drop in output to an exceptionally strong March outturn as lockdown measures started to ease.
“The decline in economic output in the first quarter largely reflected the squeeze on activity from coronavirus restrictions, which was partly offset by growing business resilience to those restrictions and a monthly boost from the reopening of schools in March.
“The first quarter decline should be followed by a robust rebound in the second quarter as the effects of the release of pent-up demand, as restrictions ease and the strong vaccine rollout, are fully felt.
“However, with the longer-term economic damage caused by coronavirus likely to increasingly weigh on activity as government support winds down, the recovery maybe slower than many, including the Bank of England, currently predict.”
Responding to the details of the Government’s legislative plan set out in today’s Queen’s Speech, Nova Fairbank, Chief Operating Officer for Norfolk Chambers, said:
“Norfolk businesses will welcome the clear direction in the Queen’s Speech, as the Government looks to boost the economy and place all parts of the UK on an equal footing.
“As local companies begin the slow process of rebuilding following the pandemic it is vital that they are given the support they need to kick start their recovery.
“A strong focus on improving digital and technical skills that match the needs of local business will be a key driver in making that happen.
“Improving rail and bus services, maximising the national coverage of 5G mobile services and superfast broadband, while simplifying the planning system are important enablers to ensuring companies can rebuild and grow.
“These are all challenges that have existed for a long time, and we are now at a critical juncture where they must be addressed. This opportunity cannot be wasted, and the Chamber network will have a laser focus to ensure the Government delivers on its promises.
“It is disappointing that new employment legislation that could address the flexibility of working practices did not feature. The pandemic has changed the way we work forever, and employers need clear guidance on how to provide long-term flexible working arrangements that will make jobs more accessible for everyone.”
As we launch our Norfolk Chambers Team out into the Norfolk business community, we are offering businesses the chance to win a year’s free access to some of the key business events hosted by Norfolk Chambers, so that you can Co.nnect With ‘Em All and use the many skills of The Motivator, The Zinger, The Promoter, The Producer, The Connector, The Architect and The Supporter (and many more soon to be announced!) to help your business.
What you need is what we do, and attending our events enable you to unlock all the skills and resources of the Norfolk Chambers Team – and so much more!
Responding to the announcement of the ‘green list’ for international travel, British Chambers of Commerce Co-Executive Director Hannah Essex said:
“We welcome this announcement as a first step on the road to a broader resumption of international travel over the coming months. Many businesses will be hoping that this soon leads to a further expansion of the ‘green list’. Firms are eager to reconnect with their overseas customers and suppliers, indeed for many having that access could be key to their very survival.
“Firms want to see government do everything it can to continue to drive down the cost of the tests required for business and leisure travellers. These costs must not be allowed to become an impediment to the viability of businesses reliant on tourism, or on UK firms’ chances of seizing opportunities for global trade and staking a place in growing markets. Government should keep these lists under constant review. Being driven by data and not dates, there should be no hesitation in adding a country to the green list if the data shows it is safe to do so.”