23 August 2018

ACCA: Brexit, no deal - the VAT guidance

ACCA welcomed the VAT guidance issued by the UK government in case no deal is reached in the Brexit negotiations. The VAT guidance explains that if a no deal happens, the remaining EU member states will become third countries.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, global head of tax at ACCA says:

‘While the government’s aim is to keep VAT procedures as close as possible to what they are now, there’s a strong possibility that things will change and that more guidance is to come - for instance with the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. This is still hazy, and we look forward to the government’s “more information in due course.”

‘The key VAT changes that businesses will need to prepare for are when importing goods from the EU, exporting goods to the EU, supplying services to the EU, and interacting with EU VAT IT systems such as the VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS).

‘If the UK leaves the EU without an agreement, the government will introduce postponed accounting for import VAT on goods brought into the UK. This will help ensure businesses are not hit by negative cash-flow and this is a concession that will be viewed favourably by UK businesses.

‘It’s important for businesses to note that they are currently able to obtain VAT refunds from other member states through a straightforward single market mechanism. This will stop and some member states may stop refunding VAT at all to the UK as they currently do to the US.

Full press release

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