BREXIT

Prior to the United Kingdom (UK) formally leaving the European Union (EU) on 31^st December 2020, BASDA had a special interest group that attempted to interpret the probable changes needed when considering a whole range of issues associated with the UK’s departure. The group met weekly and shared information between members and provided a conduit for seeking clarification from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and other UK Government Agencies. Part of this process included arranging webinars for BASDA members, our guests from the Institute of Directors (IoD) and colleagues from the Association of Freight Software Suppliers (AFSS). The webinars dealt with as many aspects of getting prepared for BREXIT as could be arranged.

Given an agreement between the UK and EU was not in place until late on 24^th December 2020 (less than three working days before its implementation), there was still much to be done.

Post BREXIT

The now renamed Post-BREXIT Working Party (PBWP) now meets monthly with the continuous exchange of information gleaned by its members being shared between them. Further Webinars have been arranged (and are likely to continue to be arranged) and questions are funnelled through to HMRC where response times are typically a couple of working days at most.

Issues around BREXIT rules for now dealing with trade between the UK and the EU have been exacerbated by the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) that has caused significant problems for Businesses in the UK. Because Northern Ireland (NI) is expected to follow all EU rules (to facilitate a soft border between Ireland and NI) it must (now) adopt a different set of rules for trading with Great Britain (GB – England, Scotland & Wales). By the same token, GB companies when trading with NI must provide full export (or import) documentation for all transactions.

If you would like more information about the BBWP please email marketing@basda.org

Commercial Opportunities

Watching and understanding all developments will ensure that commercial opportunities for BASDA members are maintained. Businesses with cross border supply chains have had to re-think operational processes, automate procedures and improve backroom efficiencies. As a result, these companies are highly likely to require help from BASDA members.

Customs Duties, Tax and Tariffs

The NIP has introduced an unexpected level of complexity for all UK businesses that are continuing to be interpreted and understood. By the same token, organisations like HMRC are also continuing to develop their own systems to ensure compliance with the rules that, in some circumstances, are simply not straight forward. Additionally, although there is ‘an agreement’ in many areas of trade, some have yet to be refined. This includes understanding how Value Added Taxation (VAT) is applied to all types of goods and services (whether physical deliveries or electronic delivery of software and services). As the UK is no longer part of the EU there is no longer the ability to simply offset VAT charged on supplies from EU suppliers, and there is a need to register in the EU if making taxable supplies to EU based customers.

The PBWP tries to better understand the issues associated with the new rules and regulations and thus be able to circulate to BASDA  members all relevant updates and interpretations to better allow BASDA members respond to them.

Employment and Talent Acquisition

Many software development firms in the UK routinely employ EU nationals, both internally and remotely. According to Tech UK, one in six new hires between 2009 and 2015 were EU citizens. There is no longer the ‘free bi-directional movement’ of people between EU states and the UK. There are limits on how long a UK National can reside in EU countries (and each country may have its own rules) and there are limits for how long an EU National can visit the UK. As information becomes available it is disseminated through the PBWP to all BASDA members.

Alternatives to EU Research Grants

Now that the UK has left EU, access to EU research grants has come to an end. Although this will affect only a proportion of BASDA members, we will be exploring the alternative options for Research & Development (R&D) as we believe these are particularly valuable for new and growing software development companies.

Special Interest Groups

Established Specialist Interest Groups led by members on behalf of members addressing key issues that impact the software industry and our customers.