The Government has said it will introduce a modern, digital, value-added tax (VAT)-free shopping regime for non-UK visitors with the aim of providing a boost to the high street and creating jobs in the retail and tourism sectors. The delivery will include modernizing the regime that currently operates in Northern Ireland and introducing a new digital regime in Great Britain. A consultation will be launched to gather views on the approach and design of the regime, to be delivered as soon as possible.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 was published on 22 September 2022 (but with no date for its second reading). Currently, retained direct EU legislation takes priority over domestic UK legislation passed prior to the end of the Brexit Transition Period when they are incompatible. The Bill is intended to reverse this order of priority, to reinstate domestic law as the highest form of law on the UK statute book. It will be particularly interesting to see what changes this brings from a VAT perspective.
Source: EY
