3. Non UK axis diplomat systems and Brexit

This support note applies to axis diplomat 2016, 2018 and 2020 systems only. Systems running software older than this will not receive software updates and will need to manually review any changes they need to make to their data to handle the end of the Brexit transition period.

The information in this support note focuses on those systems with a non UK base (home country) VAT registration. For those data sets with base VAT registration in the UK, please refer to our separate support note VAT-handling-for-UK-Exports-and-Imports-from-1st-January-2021.

The UK Brexit transition will end at 23:00 31st December 2020 and the UK is leaving the EU VAT regime.

For those businesses based in the EC, this means that trade with the UK will be treated in the same manners as exports and imports to and from non EC member states.

The development teams at axisfirst have been monitoring and reacting to all of the relevant information over the past months and have been updating the axis diplomat software to correctly account for transactions conducted between the UK and EC member states from 1st January 2021. 

This support note details those changes and any actions that axis diplomat users will need to take to correctly record transactions with EC and non EC customers and suppliers from 1st January 2021.

Current axis diplomat software releases incorporate a function Maintain Brexit Settings in which the date is maintained from which the UK will no longer be a member of the EU VAT Regime. 

Using a combination of this date, your dataset base VAT registration country, and the country of the supplier/customer record, axis diplomat will recognise transactions with the UK and automatically adjust the VAT treatment of these transactions to that of a Non EC Member state if dated on or after the configured Brexit date. Transactions entered after the cutover date but dated before will apply VAT handling as applicable to the UK's membership of the EU VAT Regime at that point.

The process above means that you will not need to amend the Account Classifications for your UK Customers and Suppliers from EC Member to Non EC Member before processing any transactions with the UK after the UK's exit from the EU VAT Regime however you may wish to do so for clarity when reviewing you customer and supplier accounts.