The government has laid three further sets of regulations making amendments to VAT legislation, to be brought into force in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a negotiated arrangement. The main changes provide for postponed accounting in respect of import VAT and set out a modified version of the tour operators margin scheme.
The regulations are:
The Value Added Tax (Tour Operators) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/73, making changes to the VAT Tour Operators Margin Scheme, ensuring that tour operators will continue to account for VAT under a modified version of the scheme when the UK leaves the EU, which extends the scope of the zero rate to the margin on all travel services enjoyed outside the UK;
The Value Added Tax (Accounting Procedures for Import VAT for VAT Registered Persons and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/60, providing for postponed accounting in respect of import VAT, allowing businesses to account for import VAT on their normal VAT returns, provided their VAT registration number is shown on the customs declarations; and
The Value Added Tax (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocations) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/59, making changes to 18 pieces of secondary legislation and revoking six instruments relating to EU arrangements, such as ‘acquisitions’, which are no longer relevant after the UK leaves the EU, consequential mainly on amendments made to VATA 1994 and on new terminology introduced by the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018.
A fourth instrument, aligning the VAT fund management exemption with EU law, will come into force on exit day whether or not an agreement has been reached:
The Value Added Tax (Finance) (EU Exit) Order, SI 2019/43, provides for the VAT fund management exemption to apply to pension funds that meet certain criteria from the date of the UK’s exit from the EU, and removes the requirement for certain funds to invest wholly or mainly in securities for the exemption to apply. The government has decided to legislate now to follow the 2014 decision of the CJEU in ATP Pension Service (Case C-464/12), to provide certainty on the fund management exemption after the UK leaves the EU.
The government has laid three further sets of regulations making amendments to VAT legislation, to be brought into force in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a negotiated arrangement. The main changes provide for postponed accounting in respect of import VAT and set out a modified version of the tour operators margin scheme.
The regulations are:
The Value Added Tax (Tour Operators) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/73, making changes to the VAT Tour Operators Margin Scheme, ensuring that tour operators will continue to account for VAT under a modified version of the scheme when the UK leaves the EU, which extends the scope of the zero rate to the margin on all travel services enjoyed outside the UK;
The Value Added Tax (Accounting Procedures for Import VAT for VAT Registered Persons and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/60, providing for postponed accounting in respect of import VAT, allowing businesses to account for import VAT on their normal VAT returns, provided their VAT registration number is shown on the customs declarations; and
The Value Added Tax (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocations) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/59, making changes to 18 pieces of secondary legislation and revoking six instruments relating to EU arrangements, such as ‘acquisitions’, which are no longer relevant after the UK leaves the EU, consequential mainly on amendments made to VATA 1994 and on new terminology introduced by the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018.
A fourth instrument, aligning the VAT fund management exemption with EU law, will come into force on exit day whether or not an agreement has been reached:
The Value Added Tax (Finance) (EU Exit) Order, SI 2019/43, provides for the VAT fund management exemption to apply to pension funds that meet certain criteria from the date of the UK’s exit from the EU, and removes the requirement for certain funds to invest wholly or mainly in securities for the exemption to apply. The government has decided to legislate now to follow the 2014 decision of the CJEU in ATP Pension Service (Case C-464/12), to provide certainty on the fund management exemption after the UK leaves the EU.
