Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the VAT rules introduced in the EU on 1 July 2021 on the ability of (a) SME and (b) micro retailers based in the UK to export to EU member states.

The UK does not provide an impact assessment of policy measures that are introduced by jurisdictions outside of the UK.

The changes to EU VAT rules introduced on 1 July 2021 include the withdrawal of a VAT relief for low value imports into the EU and introduce a system that non-EU businesses selling into the EU can opt to use. This system (the Import One Stop Shop) provides a simplified means of registering and paying VAT on low value consignments. The EU has published guidance about this at https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/ioss_en.