What did Brexit mean for your business?

Brexit has changed the way we do business internationally.

We’ve all heard that Brexit is responsible for almost every problem we’re having these days within the supply chain, whether it’s ingredients for fast food restaurants, stock in supermarkets or garden furniture and petrol shortages not to mention payment of VAT and IOSS Compliance but why is this?

There are some well reported reasons such as a shortage of HGV drivers and more customs paperwork not to mention Covid, but how do you get around them?

Well we can’t help you with HGV divers although who knows, maybe it’ll encourage more use of goods trains with local distribution using smaller vehicles, however over the last few months we’ve been working very hard to help our clients resolve their issues around shipping into Europe and beyond.

VAT and IOSS Compliance

Brexit brought many changes to custom rules around both import and export declarations, risk, ownership, not to mention VAT rates and collection (IOSS compliance)

One of the clients we have helped recently, a specialist automotive parts supplier ships parts all across the world. As such they needed to adapt quickly to the changes in documentation requirements, such as delivery notes and international invoices which need to accompany shipments.  We were able to develop a brand new business management system for them.

As well as improving their office systems and warehousing, the system has been designed to dynamically adapt the documentation necessary to ship globally, dependant upon the destination. This ensures that any possible delays caused by poor documentation as shipments cross borders are reduced as much as possible.

So what do we mean by VAT & IOSS Compliance?

Different countries also have different rules around what can be shipped and the information required (such as individual VAT codes for Norway). Different countries also have different VAT rates that also need to be applied. Indeed with European IOSS rules now in place, the way VAT is handled when shipping to Europe also differs dependant on the value of the shipment. For shipments  under €150, VAT has to be collected by the supplier when the order is placed, whilst for those in excess of €150 it is the responsibility of the receiver to pay in country.

Businesses really need to consider the best management approach to do this.

We have helped many clients with these issues by building them systems that can automatically track orders to ensure compliance. Ensuring all these requirements are met, tracked and managed whilst making it quick and easy to adapt to future changes in in legislation stemming from the new world order after Brexit.

To learn more, give us a call and we’ll be happy to chat about how we can help you and your business.