I am sure you have all noticed that the Government has issued the first round of “technical guidance papers” to help us prepare for a no deal Brexit “just in case”.

Regardless of our personal views of the likelihood of this happening we need to be aware of the guidance so that we can be ready, if necessary.

HMRC has issued VAT guidance. The short version is that VAT is here to stay and broadly speaking, transactions with EU countries will be treated the same way as transactions with non-EU countries are currently treated.
There are a few changes:

• VAT on goods imported from anywhere in the world would be accounted for on the VAT return in the same way as you currently account for VAT on imports from the EU.
• Low Value Consignment relief would be abolished for all incoming parcels from anywhere (it will probably be abolished anyway as it is the way the rest of the world is going).
• The Tour Operators Margin Scheme is an EU VAT accounting scheme and there is no indication how it would be replaced (trade consultations are ongoing).
• Any business using MOSS, would have to register again in an EU member state
• Validation of UK VAT registration numbers would have to be done via a new service which “HMRC is developing”.

If any of these potential changes might affect you and your business, or you think they might, we’d be delighted to help, afterall we love tax.

Contact your local AIMS Accountant for more information.