UK. The UK Parliament last night voted overwhelmingly to allow the government to negotiate the country’s departure from the European Union. Draft legislation on ‘Brexit’ was approved by 494 votes to 122. The bill now moves to the House of Lords for ratification. If it passes there, it will pave the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger formal talks with the EU by the end of March.
The UK’s Supreme Court had ruled on 24 January that the country’s parliament must vote on whether the Brexit process can be triggered. The initial vote to approve this move took place on 1 February, with last night’s vote backing the legislation required.
As reported, the UK’s departure from the EU looks likely to signal the return of duty free sales between the UK and EU states, in what would be a huge boost to the industry.
The duty free industry has stepped up efforts to recommence sales to passengers travelling between the UK and EU countries, a channel that was scrapped in 1999.
As reported, existing legislation will permit EU passengers to purchase duty free when travelling to the UK as soon as the country leaves the European Union. The UK will need to amend its excise duty and VAT rules to allow EU-bound travellers leaving the UK to purchase duty free post-Brexit.
If May’s timeline for a full exit from the European Union goes to plan, then duty free between the UK and the EU could be back in place by March 2019 at the latest. Lobbying groups the UK Travel Retail Forum and the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) are working hard behind the scenes to pave the way for what will be a welcome boost for the UK and EU duty free sectors.
