In further good news for the Brexiteer sheeple, HMRC has stated that its preparations for a Northern Ireland backstop could take up to 30 months,
after the government had decided how the mechanism will work. While the Brexit transition period ends in two years.
The two permanent secretaries at the Treasury, James Harra and Jon Thompson, were speaking to the Treasury Committee this week, in what Thompson said was his thirteenth Brexit-related select committee appearance. He stated that creating the systems required for the Northern Ireland backstop could take more than two years, but also said this was based on a series of assumptions.
"It is really difficult to answer that question," he said when asked if a backstop would be ready by December 2020, which is when the transition period is currently scheduled to end.
He said that his department needed further clarity "on what exactly is required in order for us to be able to work out what IT systems we would need to build" and also on what EU IT systems and databases it would still have access to.
After the Treasury has these two sets of information, it can start to specify the operations required and build IT systems to do it (or contract that out, at significant cost). At this point "we would need businesses that are transacting towards Northern Ireland to adapt or amend their own systems".
"In broad terms, if we were to make a number of assumptions, we think it could be up to 30 months to do that work," he said.
But the clock won't start ticking until the governments reach an agreement.
PDF of the report.
Draft declaration.
ETA: I should also point out that most IT experts think 30 months is grossly insufficient, especially those who remember childcare payment system fiasco of 2014 to date.
