How to deal with BREXIT

What you now need to consider and change

The UK’s decision to leave the European Union has resulted in a number of changes to how business partners and movement of goods are handled. These cover various areas throughout the system, for example the calculation of VAT, how purchase and sales invoices are to be handled, or how to deal with internal movement of goods.

Since the end of the transition period on December 31, 2020, the following things (in enwis/comotor/Business Central) need to be considered and changed.

(There is also more information from Microsoft here).

1 Country table

In the country table, the facilities in the country code for the UK need to be changed to the EU country code, the Intrastat code, and the VAT scheme. These are currently geared towards intra-EU trade, which will now become classic export trade until further notice.

In connection with the removal of the Intrastat code, the Intrastat declaration will of course also cease to apply without exception, as there will no longer be any intra-Community trade in goods.

In addition, however, Northern Ireland is to be added as a new country, as EU law including VAT according to reverse charge and Intrastat reporting will continue to apply here.

2 New UK Identification Number

A (new) Economic Operators Registration and Identification Number (EORI number) can now be found on the company data, business partner, debtor and creditor. These fields are available in the latest product version. In addition, the billing print documents must be adjusted accordingly to print the EORI.

Background information on the EORI number can be found here.

3 VAT ID numbers

The VAT ID numbers lose their validity due to the exit and must be removed from all business partners, debtors and creditors. In addition, the business entry and VAT business entry groups must be converted to the new circumstances of an export business.

4 Keying of Receivables and Payables

Depending on the setup, it would be advisable to also check and, if necessary, modify accounts receivable and accounts payable posting groups.

If there are open items, they must be reposted manually after the account has been converted.

5 Services

In addition, due to the loss of validity of the VAT ID, British companies will have to provide other evidence from the exit date in order to maintain their entrepreneurial status.

The UK government has also launched a website in this context: Brexit – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

6 Movement of goods

For any form of movement of goods, be it deliveries of goods in purchase and sale or internal movements of goods, the following adjustments apply in terms of handling.

All supplies made up to and including the date of exit are to be accounted for and invoiced as intra-Community supplies. This procedure must also be followed in the event of a later invoicing date.

All deliveries made after the exit date are no longer considered intra-Community supplies and must therefore be converted to the new circumstances and invoiced.

After the master data has been revised, the items that are still open should be transferred to new orders and settlement documents, and the old documents should be closed. The same applies to contracts.

The decisive characteristic, for the choice of the procedure, is the delivery status. All goods in delivery at the time of exit are treated as intra-Community deliveries. A start of delivery after the date of withdrawal will have to be declared and invoiced as extra-Community deliveries.

In the course of this, it is advisable to review and possibly renew the agreed delivery terms / Incoterms.

Please also check the customs clearance of your goods, to be found here: The Online Trade Tariff: Look up commodity codes, import duty, VAT and controls – GOV.UK (trade-tariff.service.gov.uk).