Electric.ie Jan/Feb 2021

58 ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • Brexit checklist for your business ‒ The announcement on Christmas Eve by the EU and the UK that they had concluded a deal is a good outcome for the vast majority of businesses in the EU and the UK, particularly as compared to the implications of a no deal writes Brian Daly, Head of the Brexit Response Team at KPMG. W hilst the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is very welcome, and will hopefully be rati ed by both sides, it does not replicate the previous frictionless trade arrangements, and businesses need to familiarise themselves with the new rules. In particular, changes in the following VAT and Customs areas apply from 1 January 2021: • All imports between the EU and GB will be subject to customs formalities, including entry and exit summary declarations, and will need to comply with the standards and rules of the importing party; • Special rules will apply to trade with Northern Ireland based businesses where the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland included in the Withdrawal Agreement will apply; •Rules of origin will apply to goods in order to qualify for preferential trade terms under the agreement; and • ere will be changes in the application of VAT to certain transactions. Whilst a lot of work has been done by many businesses to get ready for Brexit, others have struggled to prepare given the other challenges they are facing and the enormous uncertainty on where Brexit would end up. It is also disappointing that the parties have not agreed for an implementation period to allow all businesses to be ready for the new regime now that the full details are known. To assist you in being as prepared as possible for the new VAT and Customs rules, we have set out the Key Actions we recommend businesses in ROI take to be ready for these changes : VAT & Customs Actions For ROI based businesses trading with GB, even with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in place, you will still need to have processes in place to deal with Customs procedures and formalities and VAT rule changes. We have set out below key actions relating to Customs & VAT required by businesses before 11pm on 31 December 2020. 1. Understand the potential impact on your supply chain Ensure you have reviewed your supply chain to understand the potential impact of customs controls, any customs duties and VAT on the movement of your goods into, from or across GB. Ensure hauliers and freight forwarders are prepared with the relevant permits and registrations. 2. EORI number Importers and exporters of goods need to be customs registered. If not already registered, an application should be led with Revenue via Revenue’s Online Service (ROS) for an EORI (Customs) number if you are trading goods between ROI and GB. Even with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in place without an EORI number you will not be able to continue to trade with GB and your shipment of goods will be delayed until you receive a number. 3. Contracts Assess whether the Incoterms in your contracts with your suppliers and customers meet your needs post 1 January 2021 and ensure you understand what they mean. Incoterms are internationally recognised trade terms that de ne each party’s obligations, costs and risks associated with the delivery of goods from seller to buyer. Critically, Incoterms de ne whether you or your customer/supplier is responsible for the ling of customs declarations and any associated payment of duties and VAT. 4. Filing Customs declarations Make sure you are in a position to le or have someone le customer declarations for your goods movements and that you can access the information needed for the declarations. Have you appointed a customs agent or will your freight company le declarations on your behalf? Depending on your pro le, a longer- term solution may be to bring the declaration process “in-house”. e rate of any Duty arising on goods depends on their Customs classi cation and origin. Ensure you have con rmed the commodity codes and origin for all goods moving into and out of GB and vice versa. 5. Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisions e Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached between the UK and the EU provides for tari free imports of “qualifying goods” traded Industry News