HLAS

Following a public consultation, Wine: reforms to retained EU law, the UK government has set out reforms for the wine sector which will begin in 2024. Feedback from the wine industry has shown that certain regulations within the current 400-page rulebook have been stifling innovation and preventing the introduction of more efficient and sustainable practices. Changes will include removing some packaging requirements – such as ending the mandatory requirement that certain sparkling wines must have foil caps and mushroom-shaped stoppers. This will reduce unnecessary waste and packaging costs for businesses. Outdated rules around bottle shapes will also be scrapped, freeing [...]

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £25 million in the best game-changing and world-leading ideas. Ideas need to be designed for swift, successful commercialisation and be genuinely new and novel, not just disruptive within their sector. All proposals must be business-focused, with deliverable, realistic, adequately resourced plans to achieve return on investment, growth and market share following project completion. Applications can come from any area of technology and be applied to any part of the economy, such as, but not exclusively: net-zero, the arts, and design and media. To be in scope, your proposal [...]

The UK has secured a two-year extension to rules which help British companies to access lower or zero tariffs when selling goods to South Korea. The extension has been secured under the UK-South Korea free trade agreement and comes as welcome news for businesses who can continue to avoid the high tariffs imposed by South Korea on products entering the country. It also comes ahead of the launch of negotiations on a new, modernised trade deal between the UK and South Korea which will cover new sectors like digital, expected before the end of the year. South Korea is the [...]

The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult could make it easier for domestic manufacturers to connect with a new, free to use, UK Supply Chain Directory. The platform harnesses the power of machine learning to provide up-to-date information on UK manufacturers. It combines publicly accessible data with web scraping to create the single most data-rich source of UK's manufacturers and suppliers. It also allows companies to put up their company profile to update and enrich their content. HVM keep Companies House as a reference and it joins information coming from companies' websites, CreditSafe, and Dealroom. This new tool is bringing together [...]

If you do then you are probably aware of the requirement to disclose this on your Self-Assessment tax return. It is important to record any side income accurately and HMRC is going to be able to see exactly how much income you receive when using a digital platform from 1 January 2024. HMRC have new powers which means that anyone in the UK who makes money selling goods or services online will have their incomes recorded on the digital platform that they use and HMRC will have direct access to this. Digital platforms include apps and websites which facilitate the [...]

A circular economy (CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. CE aims to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution by emphasizing the design-based implementation of the three base principles of the model. The three principles required for the transformation to a circular economy are: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. CE has been gaining popularity because it helps to minimize emissions and consumption of raw materials, [...]

UK inflation unexpectedly held stable in September at 6.7% as rising fuel costs offset the first monthly fall in food prices for two years to maintain pressure on households during the cost of living crisis. The largest downward contributions to the monthly change came from food and non-alcoholic beverages, where prices fell on the month for the first time since September 2021, and furniture and household goods, where prices rose by less than they did a year ago. The Consumer Prices Index including owner-occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 6.3% in the 12 months to September 2023, the same rate [...]

UK businesses have given a thumbs up to incoming changes set to digitalise Britain’s trade borders and make the UK the third country in the world able to accept electronic trade documents. This move will take the UK a further step towards having a digital border system that is important for the improvement of the efficiency and sustainability of international trade for generations to come. Research from a recent poll, commissioned by The Institute of Export and International Trade (IOE&IT) finds that the majority of UK businesses welcome this move to digital trade. The poll finds that 75% of businesses [...]

All employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. You do this by conducting simple right to work checks before you employ someone, to make sure the individual is not disqualified from carrying out the work in question by reason of their immigration status. Most people employed as employees or workers must be paid the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, but are you aware of how to check if they are entitled? Joint HMRC and Home Office webinar: understanding right to work and minimum wage eligibility The Home Office Immigration Enforcement and HMRC’s National Minimum [...]

During the COVID pandemic the government relaxed the conditions to enable those working from home to be paid £6 a week tax free by their employer, or, where that was not paid by the employer, they could claim relief for £6 a week against their employment income for a tax refund from HMRC. Those relaxed rules applied for 2020/21 and 2021/22. Many employers and employees may not be aware that from 6 April 2022 the rules reverted to the strict statutory position. Employees can claim tax relief if they have to work from home under a homeworking agreement, for example [...]