ATC Post-Brexit Update: EU tenders, B2C VAT, UK GDPR

January 19, 2022
ATC Blog, Brexit, News, Public Sector

Brexit is old news… But its effects are still with us, and some critical issues remain tricky at best, and unresolved at worst.

Here is the most recent ATC take on participation in EU tenders, VAT on business-to-consumer sales into the EU, and plans for UK GDPR.

Can UK companies still participate in EU tenders?

Anecdotal evidence from ATC members suggests that some EU bodies continue to welcome tenders from UK-based language service companies, while others state that tendering companies must have their head office or domicile in a Member State of the EU or EEA.

The ATC is working together with its umbrella organisation, the EUATC, and the UK Department for International Trade, on providing clarity to the situation. For that, we need your help, and hard evidence of the divergent EU practices.

Write to ATC CEO Raisa McNab directly at ceo@atc.org.uk with your post-Brexit experiences with EU tenders, and concrete information on which EU bodies allow or do not allow tenders from UK-based companies.

VAT on B2C – EU sales to direct consumers

If you are a UK-based business selling services directly to consumers in the EU, you can now make use of the EU’s Non-Union One-Stop Shop for declaring VAT in one single EU member state only, instead of registering to pay for VAT in each member state you sell services to consumers in.

The EU’s One-Stop Shops (OSS’s) now cover the sales of not just digital but also other services from businesses to consumers (B2C) – including translation.

You may register for OSS in any EU member state. Irish Revenue provides an easy online registration facility and comprehensive VAT OSS guidance in English.

DOWNLOAD the full ATC Post-Brexit VAT Update 2021 via the ATC Member Area > My Benefits. (Only accessible to ATC members.)

What now? Plans for UK GDPR changes

Are you responsible for GDPR in your company? These are the key new developments you should be aware of.

In the summer of 2021, the European Commission published new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to cover relationships between controllers, processors and sub-processors, and for transfers of personal data to third countries.

At the same time, the UK’s data protection authority ICO continued their work on the UK GDPR, on international data transfers from the UK to third countries.

In the future, a UK-specific standard template contract, the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), will govern data transfers and replace the current EU SCCs, when the data is collected in the UK. The ICO is also drafting an Addendum to the new EU SCCs to make the SCCs compatible with transfers from the UK to third countries, when the data is collected in the EU.

The expected timeframes are as follows:

April 2022: UK IDTA templates are published and come into force
January 2024: EU SCCs can no longer be used

The ATC has been actively involved in the ICO’s consultation on the new rules, and will continue to inform member companies of upcoming changes.

On a wider European scale, the ATC’s CEO represents the EUATC and language service companies at an on-going Translating Europe GDPR project to identify industry-specific challenges and to work towards common GDRP guidelines for the translating and interpreting profession.

Read more about the proposed new UK GDPR agreements and templates here.

Refer to the ICO’s UK GDPR guidance here.