SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT of leaving the EU and given us the tools , they have not given us a solution . I can ’ t help but think that the logistics industry and the supply chain really have the responsibility of devising those solutions and finding the answers to how we are going to do this ,” he says . Continental customers are also coming to Rhenus to sort out their problems with the UK market , Mulligan notes . This is a much easier process , however . Whether they make a frontier clearance or go into temporary storage with a customs declaration , goods imported into the UK are being cleared relatively more easily . “ The problem in the opposite direction is that we have to sort out the complexity of 27 different sovereign states with their own customs regimes , even though the EU is a single customs area ,” he says . Paying duty is not a particularly difficult to navigate , thanks to the EU Rules of Preference . However , post-Brexit , UK companies can no longer take advantage of intra-EU VAT supply . “ Now , the terms of sale are so important that UK businesses are really struggling to maintain the supply chain they want because they have to be registered for VAT in the country where it is payable – it ’ s ultimately a domestic tax .”
New headaches over duty
“ So we are going from a situation whereby the EU buyer buys the goods and makes – effectively – an inter-site declaration , to one where they have to appoint a broker , do a customs clearance , potentially consider paying VAT upfront and claiming it back later in the countries where you can do that , which don ’ t include Germany and Italy .” The costs and bureaucracy involved in all this ultimately mean that many buyers will look for supply closer to hand in the EU . “ It ’ s been a real eye-opener ,’ Mulligan says . “ The UK Government and traders never looked much at EU VAT before . Now they are realising it could all cause some serious supply chain issues .” Clients in the chemical industry are coming “ in a constant stream to us , looking for solutions ”, Mulligan says , and particularly since late 2020 . The challenges are particularly acute in this industry because of global network it has , in which the
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