The Treasury has signalled the government will end VAT refunds on purchases made by overseas visitors on 31 December, when the UK leaves the EU, despite claims from the travel and luxury goods sector that this will harm tourism

HMRC has written to all VAT-registered businesses in Great Britain trading with the EU and/or the rest of the world, highlighting what they need to do to prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU at the end of this year

With under six months to go until the UK leaves the EU, the government has announced a major new public information campaign for businesses, while research from the Institute of Directors (IoD) indicates only a quarter are fully ready for the end of the Brexit transition period

The Treasury has set out details of how the UK will regulate the financial services sector following its exit from the EU, with reforms planned to take effect following the end of the transition period at the close of the year

Plans to push back directive and VAT one stop shop by six months raise concerns if Brexit transition period ends on 31 December, but create opportunity to plan ahead, argues Andy Spencer, professional services director at Accordance

Now that the UK is in the transition period after leaving the EU, Accordance’s VAT consultant Russell Hughes unpicks the menu of obstacles facing the food and drink sector trading across borders, keeping friction down and wastage low

This week sees the UK resume stalled negotiations with the EU over the terms of its withdrawal, including critical trade deals, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, with the tight timetable raising fears of a potential ‘hard Brexit’

The European Parliament has approved what MEPs termed ‘a massive recovery and reconstruction’ package to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, including ‘recovery bonds’ guaranteed by the EU budget. Pat Sweet

Government departments spent at least £4.4bn on preparing for the UK’s exit from the EU, but Treasury data showed only a limited picture of overall Brexit spending and little information was put in the public domain, the National Audit Office (NAO) has found

The government is to bring in a points-based immigration system from the start of next year, which will give priority to highly-skilled workers but will not offer a general low-skilled or temporary work route, raising concerns about the potential impact on the labour pool

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have published guidance for accountants and auditors confirming that there will be no substantive changes during the transition period post Brexit

German digital bank N26 is pulling out of the UK market citing post-Brexit regulatory issues as the reason for closing all UK accounts

Exporters can still apply for the remaining £7.5m of funding to help businesses change their systems to handle post-Brexit EU customs declarations after the government extended the deadline 

The government is consulting on plans to create up to 10 freeports across the UK, with tariff flexibility, customs facilitations and tax measures designed to encourage global trade and attract inward investment post-Brexit

The government plans to introduce a points-based immigration system from 2021, based on the recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) review