Brexit: the future of VAT and customs

22 Aug 2018

The lack of progress on agreement on a trading model and customs arrangements post-Brexit highlights the inherent differences between current EU trade and the customs rules governing non-EU trade. David McGeachy, partner and national head of VAT at Saffery Champness explains

For many, Brexit is as much a mystery now as it was on 23 June 2016 when the UK woke up to the news it had voted to leave the EU. Negotiations on what sort of Brexit deal we may have when we do leave have been ongoing or going nowhere (depending on your point of view).

There have been proposals and counter proposals: soft and hard Brexit plans; facilitated customs proposals; frictionless borders; the Norwegian model; the Canadian model; the Canadian plus plus plus model; and World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

For business, all of this has meant a prolonged period of uncertainty and that risks damaging trade.