It appears increasingly likely that the UK will exit the European Union with effect from 29 March 2019. What remains to be seen at this point is whether a trade agreement can be reached in advance of this date. Should a trade agreement not be reached a “no deal” Brexit will occur. Should this “no deal” Brexit happen the UK will be considered a third country with effect from 29 March 2019. Some implications of a “no deal” Brexit for trade are as follows:
What this means for your business:
Supplies of goods to the UK:
Receipt of goods from the UK:
Supplies to the UK from Ireland will no longer be considered intra community supplies with the result that VAT will no longer be charged nor self-accounted for by the recipient customer. Conversely, receipt of goods from the UK will be considered imports with VAT arising at point of entry in normal circumstances. Finance Minister Paschal Donoghue has proposed introducing an import VAT postponed accounting scheme. What this might mean in practice remains to be seen but it is anticipated that the introduction of such a scheme would result in import VAT not being paid at point of entry by VAT registered businesses but self-accounted for in their periodic VAT returns as has been the case heretofore.
What you/your business can do now:
Irish Companies with UK Directors
There is a requirement in Irish Company Law that all Irish companies must have at least one EEA resident director. Therefore, if your company has only UK directors, they may not comply with the Company Law requirements as the UK will fall outside of the EEA following a no-deal Brexit. There are options available to correct this:
As this situation is very fluid at present, further updates will follow.