VAT And Customs Duty After Brexit: Preparing For The Unknown

It has been over two years since the Brexit vote. Despite recent agreement within cabinet (and the subsequent resignations), a deal is yet to be agreed with Brussels. As a result, there is still no clarity on how VAT and customs duty will apply in relation to supplies to and from the EU once Brexit takes full force. Businesses need to be prepared for change, but how? As the future is often dictated by the past, we have compared the current position against what it may become in order to assess what businesses can do to prepare.

VAT

The position now

At the moment, VAT is broadly charged on supplies between the UK and EU as follows:

Goods received in the UK from the EU are technically called intra-EU 'acquisitions'. For supplies of such goods, the VAT position is typically as follows: