The National Audit Office (NAO) is encouraged by HMRC’s progress, since it last reported in July 2017, on contingency plans for handling customs declarations in the event that the new customs declaration service (CDS) is not fully in place by January 2019 as planned.
HMRC has updated the list of signatories to the new cooperation agreement under which online marketplaces will exchange certain information about their sellers in the interests of promoting VAT compliance. The current signatories are:
The UK has become the 40th country to ratify the World Health Organisation’s ‘Protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products’, part of its ‘Framework convention on tobacco control’.
The EU has applied additional tariffs to a range of US goods with effect from 22 June, in response to the imposition by the US of increased tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products.
HMRC has published Revenue and Customs Brief 4/2018, announcing extension of the time limit for refund claims by public bodies in respect of VAT costs associated with their statutory obligations from three to four years, with effect from 1 July 2018.
On 22 June 2018, the ECOFIN council agreed a compromise text on proposals for increased exchange of information and cooperation between national tax authorities and law enforcement bodies, first introduced by the Commission in November 2017.
The ECOFIN council has agreed a VAT directive amendment to make permanent the current minimum standard VAT rate of 15% across the EU. The directive was adopted at the council meeting on 22 June.
HMRC is consulting until 20 July on a first draft of a Treasury order introducing a VAT reverse charge for supplies of construction services to businesses from October 2019.
The European Commission has put forward technical amendments to the principal VAT directive, which is a necessary step towards implementation of the measures set out in the its proposal on ‘cornerstones’ of the definitive EU VAT system.
The cost to businesses of the government’s ‘highly streamlined’ customs arrangement after Brexit could be as high as £20bn, HMRC’s chief executive told the Treasury Committee on 23 May. The ‘new customs partnership’ option would have initial costs of around £700m.