HLAS

For the first time since the financial crisis, NatWest Group plc (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc) is no longer under majority public ownership following a £1.2 billion sale of part of the government’s shareholding back to NatWest. This is the government’s fifth sale of its NatWest shareholding bringing its level of ownership down from 50.6% to 48.1%. This is a landmark in the government’s plan to return to private ownership the institutions brought into public ownership as a result of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The Economic Secretary to the Treasury authorised the sale of approximately 550 million shares [...]

Over the past few years, HMRC have been working with businesses on the Customs Declaration Service, a replacement for the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system, which is now nearly 30 years old. Last year, HMRC announced the UK will move all customs declarations from CHIEF onto the Customs Declaration Service. They are now ready for declarants to start moving to the new system, and below are more details to help affected businesses (and their agents where relevant) prepare. The CHIEF system will close in two phases: Phase one - after‌‌‌ ‌‌30‌‌‌ ‌‌September 2022: the ability to [...]

Many in the hospitality sector were hoping that the Chancellor would extend the 12.5% reduced rate that has applied since 1 October 2021 but, as scheduled, the rate has reverted to 20% from 1 April 2022. The increase will apply to hospitality, visitor attractions and catering services including restaurants and takeaways. This has a consequential effect on the VAT Flat Rate Scheme percentages from 1 April 2022 as set out below: Type of Business Before 15 July 2020 and from 1 April 2022 15 July 2020 to 30 September 2021 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 Catering services including [...]

MTD became mandatory for all VAT registered businesses on the 1 April 2022. The government states that MTD helps taxpayers get their tax returns right by reducing common mistakes as well as saving time managing their tax affairs and is a key part of the overall digitalisation of UK tax. Evidence shows MTD is succeeding in its central aims of reducing errors, while also making it faster to prepare and submit returns and boosting productivity for businesses. New research, conducted by HMRC and peer reviewed by independent academics, shows MTD is likely to have generated increased revenue for the Treasury, through reducing errors in both 2019 and [...]

1. Is there VAT on insurance ? No there is not. You will be charged Insurance Premium Tax but this is not VAT and cannot be claimed back 2. Can I claim the VAT on Cars ? No unless you are a car dealer, car hire company, driving school or taxi firm. VAT on vans and pickups can be claimed back if used in your business. 3. Can I claim VAT back on business entertaining ?  No you cannot unless it entertaining your staff 4. Is there VAT on rent ?  This is a complex area, but on residential properties [...]

Full customs controls are now in place for trading between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the European Union (EU). This means full customs declarations and payment of relevant tariffs will be needed on all goods your clients import from the EU at the time of import. Moving goods between Ireland and Great Britain  Current arrangements will continue to apply for non-controlled goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain via Ireland while discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol are continuing. This means you can still delay making your customs declarations for up to 175 days, as long as [...]

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is recommending that businesses and organisations establish incident response, disaster recovery and business continuity plans to address the heightened risk of ransomware attacks. The recommendation accompanies ICO's new guidance, and a checklist of actions businesses should review to assess their preparedness against potential ransomware attacks on their organisation. Ransomware is an increasingly prevalent form of cyber-attack. Personal data breaches from the ICO's caseload during 2020/2021 have seen a steady increase in the number and severity caused by ransomware. The guidance presents eight scenarios about the most common ransomware compliance issues the ICO has seen: Scenario [...]

From July 2022, certification, documentary, ID and physical checks are due to be introduced for animal products from the European Union (EU) into Great Britain (GB). The UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) want to start providing businesses with information ahead of further import controls being introduced from July 2022. Defra will be running a series of webinars and Q&A sessions that will provide detailed information on the steps you need to take to continue importing animal products from the EU. You have the opportunity to submit up to three questions when you register, and we [...]

The UK Space Agency will co-host a global summit to agree new ways of ensuring a safe, sustainable and secure space environment, including tackling space debris which threatens the satellites we rely on in our daily lives. The 4th Summit for Space Sustainability, hosted with the Secure World Foundation in London on the 22 and 23 June, brings together government, industry and academics from around the world to discuss how to ensure the sustainability of space operations. Orbital congestion created by space debris is one of the biggest global challenges facing the space sector. There are currently around 30,000 pieces of [...]

There are now over 40 lenders willing to lend unsecured small business loans in the UK. Whilst the majority of these will require a personal guarantee (PG) from directors, some do not. The difficulty being they all have different criteria, different application processes and different sectors they prefer lending to. A complex and time consuming task for business owners. Our experts save you time by guiding you through these processes and they will work quickly to understand the business and financial requirements of the applicant, introducing only those lenders who can meet those needs and who are most likely to [...]