Concern for NI-ROI Border Options with EU Draft Exit Agreement

The draft agreement confirms that the first preference of the EU, along with the UK, is to conclude a Trade Agreement between the two territories.

In the event this is not successful then Option B, a technological solution for managing the border between NI and ROI becomes a fall back second option. 

In the event Option B is not successful, Option C is another alternative. This option transposes the December Agreement into an operational statement and confirms that the North and the South would stay in a “common regulatory area without internal borders”. Inevitably however this leads to an internal border within the UK.

The concern for businesses is that these issues are still contentious. It cannot be emphasised enough that all businesses need to review their ROI-UK trade strategy and consider the decisions to be taken to ensure trade continues next year.

We are recommending this review includes a full tax and regulatory assessment. Our clients are looking at new company set ups, tax registrations, VAT registrations, customs and trusted trader status and the supports that are available to put these changes in place.

Based on demand from our clients we have developed a bespoke offering to enable companies to manage their spend and implement the minimal requirements necessary in the event of a worst case March 2019 scenario.

For further information on how we can assist you, please contact Carol Lynch on +353 1 470 0491, [email protected] or a member of the Brexit Taskforce team on +353 1 470 0420.