Questions and answers on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31 January 2020 For the future relationship, the extent of changes to VAT, customs duties and excise duties depends on the exact nature of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU to be negotiated. The political declaration is, as expected, a high level of ambition. Until a firm direction is reached, it is difficult to carry out detailed and reliable analyses. The protocol for Northern Ireland/Ireland – the backstop – should only enter into force if the transitional period ends without a future agreement. Both the UK and the EU say it is not intended to be used and its aim is to protect itself from a hard border on the island of Ireland. The agreement will then be reviewed by EU-27 member states before being formally accepted at a summit of EU heads of state and government at the end of November. Adoption shall be made only by unanimity. The European Parliament must then vote by majority to ratify the agreement. Finally, the British Parliament will vote on the agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement provides for a transitional period of 21 months with the EU after 29 March 2019, the date of the formal withdrawal of the United Kingdom.

This will allow the UK and the EU to negotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) setting out the terms for future trade between the two after the transition period. If the VA is confirmed (see below), the UK will remain within the EU Internal Market, the Customs Union (CU) and other EU structures, institutions and agreements until December 2020. This implies that the UK will remain a member of the EU VAT system until the end of 2020. However, the UK will lose its seat on the Council of the EU, the Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Communities and MEPs. The UK is expected to continue to contribute part of the EU budget during this transition period. The UK will remain in the EU VAT system until the end of the transition period in December 2020. One of the main VAT issues raised by the agreement is this: while Northern Ireland is linked to the CU, the UK is prevented from significantly changing the rules in other parts of the country in order to give them a competitive advantage over the rest of the EU. the United Kingdom may not unilaterally leave the single customs territory; it must seek an agreement with the EU.

That is what matters. Parliament is due to vote shortly on whether or not to accept the VA. If there is no VA, there will be no transitional period (unless a new agreement is concluded between the EU and the UK). To find the national contact points in your country, please consult the contact list. This raises the question of how the EU and UK VAT regimes coexist if the protocol is implemented. Could there be restrictions on VAT, for example. B product controls, VAT customs declarations and controls to prevent smuggling? The full list of care instructions is available here. If there is no future relationship agreement and the transition period comes to an end, the protocol will enter into force. It would only apply to goods, not services. There would be a single customs territory between the UK and the EU; where Northern Ireland remains simultaneously in the EU customs union. . .

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