With Brexit talks still deadlocked, businesses in the UK and across the EU continue to wait to find out exactly what tariffs and regulations they will face from 1st January 2021.
In the meantime, countries across Europe are taking steps to prepare themselves for a post-Brexit future and new regulations are being announced daily. We’ve picked out these three key updates from this week for you to consider and share with your teams:
1) Fiscal representative likely to be required in Bulgaria
A current ruling that allows UK businesses registered for VAT in Bulgaria to avoid the requirement to appoint a fiscal representative in the country is likely to end. The Bulgarian parliament is set to remove this allowance and companies will need to declare a representative by 15th January if they are registered for distance selling purposes or 31st March if they are VAT-registered on general terms. Sign-off on this decision is expected in the coming days.
2) Fiscal representation required in Estonia
In Estonia, the tax authority has confirmed UK businesses registered for VAT in the Baltic nation will need to appoint a tax representative by 1st January. It noted an EU Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) is crucial to importing goods into the EU from the UK once the UK leaves the customs union. If an application for an EORI has not yet been made, businesses are advised to do so as soon as possible.
3) HMRCHis Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes. issues checklist for businesses
Ahead of the deadline, HMRC has sought to clarify several important points for UK businesses. It has reminded organisations that from 1st January they will be required to:
- Appoint a specialist to handle import and export declarations or ensure these can be managed effectively in-house.
- Provide import declarations on controlled goods.
- Submit details of goods to HMRC; delaying declarations and import duty may be possible, but only for items not on the controlled goods list.
HMRC also confirmed transitional simplified procedures will no longer apply. This temporary measure is set to be removed.
Meanwhile, Intrastat reporting will still be required for imports into Great Britain from Northern Ireland, acquisitions into Northern Ireland from the EU and dispatches from Northern Ireland to the EU.
Related: 5 Brexit tax rules you need to know before 1st January