After the long negotiations to conclude an UK United Kingdom exit from the European Union, the UK tax authorities ("UK") have begun a campaign to inform companies registered for VAT purposes in the UK, who are involved in deliveries / acquisitions of goods with the EU.
This campaign, initiated at the beginning of February 2019, aims to draw attention to changes in tax and customs treatment of the current operations and highlights the need for preparations for a "Tough Brexit".
An important measure in these preparations is the introduction of a simplified transit procedure, a measure that can be used to import goods from the EU in the case of a "Rough Brexit".
The simplified procedure provides for the postponement of the full declaration of goods at customs at the time of importation, as well as postponement of the payment of customs duties. However, for the control of goods it is necessary to transmit certain information before their actual importation.
In this context of preparations for a "Tough Brexit", EU companies, including those in Romania, must urgently implement measures to allow for the continuation of their activities after March 29, 2019.
A major importance should be given to deliveries of goods in the export chain when companies acting as resellers buy in, for which the VAT exemption can be questioned. Moreover, the customs provisions on the basis of which the person acting as an exporter is established may influence the exemption from VAT as applied at this time by the Romanian tax authorities.
Regarding the acquisition of goods in the UK, besides the customs clearance formalities, the additional costs generated by the customs duties due on import. In the absence of an agreement, the standard customs duties established by the EU for the import of goods will apply. However, for the VAT due in customs for the import of goods from the UK for which customs formalities for release for free circulation are made in Romania, importers may continue to apply a favorable treatment similar to that of intra-Community acquisitions of goods if they are economic operators Authorized ("AEO").
The list of these measures is very long and specific to each type of activity of companies involved in commercial operations with the UK.
So 2019 is a challenging year, caused both by the change of national legislation and by the tough Brexit that seems inevitable and very close.
