VAT and other taxes

9 October 2020: HM Treasury has outlined plans to create modern Freeports across the UK to create new jobs and investment opportunities and help to regenerate communities.

5 October 2020: The methods for deferring import VAT might result in somebody other than the owner paying the VAT. HMRC’s latest guidance reiterates that only the owner can reclaim the VAT and use postponed accounting from 1 January 2021.

30 September 2020: As the Brexit transition period nears its end, businesses in the UK and EU face a number of VAT issues that need to be addressed, says indirect tax expert Stephen Dale, FCA.

17 September 2020: Duty-free shops will return from 1 January 2021, but international visitors to Great Britain will no longer be able to buy and take with them tax-free purchases from other retailers in the country as the VAT retail export scheme is scrapped.

10 September: It’s now a matter of months before Britain transitions out of the EU. It could prove challenging and costly for businesses that aren’t prepared.

23 July: From 1 January 2021 VAT on imported goods with a value of up to £135 will be collected at the point of sale not the point of importation, HMRC has confirmed.

In a nutshell, today’s Budget was one of the most extraordinary in recent memory. It marked a significant swing in economic policy, from austerity ‘coming to an end’, to a rate of borrow-and-spend that nobody would have imagined possible from a conservative government. It also marked a shift in more immediate priorities, from preparing for a post-Brexit Britain, to dealing with the challenges of Covid-19.

17 February 2020: HMRC has confirmed that state aid approval still applies to the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) following the UK leaving the EU on 31 January 2020.

Read our quick-start guide, outlining a variety of areas that could impact your business post Brexit, to help you prepare for when the transition period has ended.

Our guide is intended to help you understand how Brexit might impact on the UK’s existing VAT rules.

The Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 13 September 2018. The Act seeks to replace the current EU Union Customs Code and amend current UK VAT and excise duty laws in connection with the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.