The Cross-Border Trade Bill

The Taxation (Cross-Border) Trade Bill 2017–19 introduces legislation regulating import duty, VAT and excise duty in preparation for the UK leaving the EU. While the purpose of the legislation is to provide the UK with functioning tax provisions for cross-border trade, due to the sweeping powers granted to the government to amend or supplement the legislation, and uncertainty about the result of the current negotiations between the UK and the EU, it offers no real clarity on what the system will actually look like following the UK’s departure from the EU.