Schemes create one stop shop for VAT on EU trade

Three schemes will be launched on 1 July to deal with VAT on business-to-consumer supplies of goods and services to EU customers.

They are known as the ‘Union’, ‘non-Union’ and ‘import’ schemes. The schemes are designed to facilitate the collection of VAT by one EU member state, which is then passed on to the member state in which the supply is deemed to take place.

The ‘Union scheme’ covers intra-EU supplies of goods and services for businesses with their place of business or a fixed establishment within the EU.

The Union scheme will also allow a UK business to hold stock within the EU (for example, the Netherlands) and pay VAT for all EU sales to the relevant tax authorities.

The ‘non-Union scheme’ covers supplies of services to EU customers by businesses with no establishment within the EU.

The ‘import scheme’ covers the distance sale of goods below €150 fulfilled from stock held outside the EU.

If businesses register for VAT using one of these schemes, they will complete one return for all EU sales, rather than being required to register for VAT in all member states in which their customers are based. These schemes will allow businesses to declare sales across all EU member states.

For more information, visit our website at www.nhllp.com

FSB urges government to provide greater support for UK exports

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged the government to act in order to support small businesses exporting to the EU.

The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that UK GDP and total exports fell by 7.8% and 10.3% respectively in February 2021 when compared to February 2020.

The FSB found that UK exports have ‘tumbled’ since the end of the Brexit transition period, and that a fifth of small exporters have halted sales to the EU. The business group is calling for further action to be taken to help ‘alleviate the new admin facing exporters’.

Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the FSB, said: ‘If you’d asked small business owners at this time last year about COVID-linked disruption they wouldn’t have dreamed it would be continuing so far into the future.

‘These stark figures are a reminder that this lockdown needs to be the last: better to unlock more slowly than to rush and have a repeat of the damaging chaos suffered in the run-up to last year’s critical festive trading season.

‘The government should now turn to its build back better agenda: cutting the non-wage costs of employment to spur hiring, ending a debilitating late payment crisis that has worsened through lockdowns and taking innovative approaches to emergency debt to realise meaningful economic value.’

For more information, as ever, visit our website at http://www.nhllp.com

ICAEW warns SMEs have ‘limited window’ to apply for Brexit grant

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has warned eligible small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that they have a limited window to apply for a grant under the Brexit Support Fund.

SMEs seeking to make use of the Fund only have until 30 June 2021 to apply, the ICAEW stated. It also said that they may not be successful if the £20 million fund runs out before the deadline. Businesses can make a claim for a training grant, a professional advice grant or both. However, the amount of the grant cannot exceed £2,000.

The Brexit Support Fund aims to help businesses prepare for the implementation of import controls which come into force from April and July 2021.

Businesses who trade only with the EU and are therefore new to importing and exporting processes will be encouraged to apply for grants of up to £2,000 for each trader to pay for practical support to ensure they can continue to trade effectively.

The Brexit Support Fund application portal can be accessed here.

For more information, as ever, visit our website at http://www.nhllp.com

SME Brexit Support Fund

The SME Brexit Support Fund could give you up to £2,000 to help with training or professional advice, if your business has up to 500 employees and no more than £100 million annual turnover.

The UK government has unveiled a £20 million Brexit support package to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with changes to trade rules with the EU.

The SME Brexit Support Fund aims to help businesses prepare for the implementation of import controls which come into force from April and July.

What you’ll be able to use the grant for

You can use the grant for training on:

• how to complete customs declarations
• how to manage customs processes and use customs software and systems
• specific import and export related aspects including VAT, excise and rules of origin

It can be used to help you get professional advice so your business can meet its customs, excise, import VAT or safety and security declaration requirements.

Who will be able to apply

Your business must:

• be established in the UK
• have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting the application, or currently hold Authorised Economic Operator status
• not have previously failed to meet its tax or customs obligations
• have no more than 500 employees
• have no more than £100 million turnover
• import or export goods between Great Britain and the EU, or moves goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Your business must also either:

• complete (or intend to complete) import or export declarations internally for its own goods
• use someone else to complete import or export declarations but requires additional capability internally to effectively import or export (such as advice on rules of origin or advice on dealing with a supply chain)

How to apply

PwC is administering the grants for HMRC and you can apply inline through PwC HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications will close on 30 June 2021 or earlier if all funding is allocated before this date.

How we can help

For more information regarding the application process do not hesitate to call a member of our dedicated team on 01753 888211 or email info@nhllp.com

Alternatively, visit our website at www.nhllp.com

Businesses have ‘insufficient information’ on Brexit changes, BCC finds

An analysis carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has suggested that businesses lack detailed official information on the rules that are set to take effect once the Brexit transitional period ends on 31 December.

The BCC found that businesses have insufficient information in regard to 24 critical areas. This is ‘undermining their ability to prepare for change’ on 1 January, the business group stated.

According to the BCC, firms still do not know what rules of origin will apply at the end of the transition period, preventing them and their customers from planning and potentially creating unprecedented new administration and costs. Additionally, only limited guidance is available on the procedures for the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and there is no information on how UK tariff rate quotas will be administered or how businesses can access them beyond the transition period.

Commenting on the issue, Adam Marshall, Director General of the BCC, said: ‘With just weeks to go, businesses need answers, and they need them now. Posters and television adverts are no substitute for the clear, detailed and actionable information businesses require to prepare for the end of transition.

‘None of the issues businesses are grappling with are new. They have all been raised repeatedly over the past four years, from tariff codes and rules of origin through to the movement of goods from GB to NI.’

For more information, as ever, visit our website: http://www.nhllp.com

Small businesses ‘planning for range of Brexit outcomes’, research suggests

Research carried out by banking group Close Brothers has suggested that 47% of UK small businesses have started to plan for a range of possible Brexit outcomes.

Ahead of the publication of the first of some 84 government advisory notices on Brexit and its potential outcomes, a survey of 900 businesses carried out by Close Brothers revealed that 40% of firms currently export to the EU.

57% of manufacturing firms surveyed export to the EU, and Close Brothers has suggested that it is these businesses that will be the ‘most exposed’ to supply chain disruption.

Reorganising supply chains will ‘not necessarily be a negative’ for one in five businesses, the survey found. 31% of manufacturers polled believe that reorganising their supply chain will be beneficial.

Commenting on the issue, Neil Davies, CEO of Close Brothers, said: ‘It clearly demonstrates that in the absence of certainty, businesses have taken it upon themselves to assess the impact leaving the EU will have on the supply chain, which, for many businesses exposed to Europe, is critical.

‘Every sector we polled had some level of export dealings with Europe, which demonstrates clearly just how entwined we are with the continent, and how important it’s going to be to ensure the movement of goods isn’t disrupted, both in the short and long-term.’