| Dispatching Goods into EU |
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Dispatching goods into EU opens business horizons even wider. The 27 countries of the European Union (EU) make up a huge market of potential customers and suppliers for your business. This market can be easier to access than other overseas markets as many of the trading practices, regulations and standards apply throughout the EU. Key tasks - such as accounting for VAT - have also been simplified to facilitate trade within the EU. If you conform to UK requirements, you will generally meet requirements throughout the EU. Trading with other European Union (EU) countries offers a number of key benefits to businesses in the UK. The EU is a huge market in which to sell your goods and services - it also gives you access to a huge source of suppliers. At the core of the EU is the single market - the programme of freeing up the trade of goods and services and the movement of people between EU countries. The aim is that doing business with other EU countries should become increasingly like doing business within your own country. The following are some of the measures which EU countries have introduced to make it easier to trade with each other: Reduced bureaucracy and paperwork - for instance, trade with the EU can be recorded on your VAT form in the same way as any of your sales and purchases in the UK. Harmonised standards - EU-wide technical and safety standards ensure that if you meet UK standards you'll also meet the standards of other EU countries. Movement of people - UK citizens have the right to travel, live and work in any EU country. You can also employ EU citizens to work in the UK. The Euro - it has reduced the currency considerations faced by businesses trading in euros between Eurozone countries. For VAT purposes, you should record goods and services sold to and bought from other EU countries on your usual VAT return. If either your EU acquisitions or dispatches of goods are above a threshold - £260,000 from 1 January 2007 - you'll have to complete an additional form, the Intrastat Supplementary Declaration. For trade involving the movement of goods and services between two VAT-registered businesses in different EU countries, VAT is paid by the customer at the rate which applies in their country. Share this Article:                        Advertisement |
