On 31st January 2020, the United Kingdom (‘UK') was
officially withdrawn from the European Union (‘EU')
after years of negotiations and uncertainty following the 2016
Brexit referendum. Then began a transition period
which ended on 31st December 2020 during which the UK and EU
negotiated their future relationship. During this period,
the VAT
rules and obligations remained relatively unchanged, but
various changes took effect from 1st January 2021.
For VAT purposes, at midnight on 31st December 2020, the UK
formally stopped being an EU country and became a third country.
Therefore, if suppliers trade with the UK (subject to the
conditions of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland) the VAT
rules for trade with non-EU
businesses started applying. Below is a summary of the
changes in trading with the UK following the end of the transition
period.
