For businesses operating in the UK and EU, the implications of BREXIT have been a topic of debate for a long. Even though the change was to be manifested in the UK after 1st Jan 2021, business owners have been preparing for the same for months. Primarily because, BREXIT would change the face of everyday business operations, and only the organizations that would stand upright in the readiness scale, can sustain the pressure while mitigating the risks (if any)
In case you are new to this sector or, aren’t aware of what BREXIT is and how will this affect your business operations, this article will help you understand the same. Starting with what exactly do we mean by BREXIT to the impact laid ln SAP, Taxes and Custom procedures, we will cover all. Without further ado, let’s begin.
What is BREXIT?
Brexit stands for “British exit”. And this refers to the decision made by the UK government on the 23rd of June 2016 to leave the EU. Since then a lot has been said and done in the name of preparations for the exit. It was in 2019 that the final date of exit got public and is now due 31st December 2020.
As the day passes, we take time out to figure out the impending effect of BREXIT on business organizations.
Impact of BREXIT on an organization
This section talks about the area-wide impact of BREXIT.
- Organizational SAP model:
Considering the fact that the UK will leave the European Union, organizations must assess and analyze their SAP database to adapt to the data. Presently, SAP systems have a country code GB referring to the countries within the European Union. Once the exit operation is complete, the above will change and so do the data stored in the database of SAP.
- Tax determination:
As UK plans to exit the EU, SAP systems are on the verge of an overhaul. This is attributed to the fact that the ‘GB’ country code would now render ineffective for EU countries. Since tax codes are identified by the system automatically, BREXIT would call for a system-wide change, disrupting the operation on a global scale.
An important thing to note here is that Tax in SAP is one of the vital areas and would need further assessment concerning the changes. Keeping this as the core, as now dig deeper into possible SAP solutions and the impact of BREXIT on them:
Tax master data/ configuration
- It is expected that Hard Brexit would cast an impact on the key master data configuration.
- As stated, the tax codes for EU businesses given in the tax procedure of TAXGB would change and require further assessment. That is to say, a few codes need to be removed whereas new ones to be added.
- Significant changes in the definition of country, followed by the deactivation of the EU-flag for the UK to be done in the required table.
- Modifications and updates to be done in the registration numbers of VAT for the EU Member States. These are primarily stored in the “STCEG” field in the vendors’ and customers master data. Also, the GB registration will now be a different field.
Withholding tax
- In accordance with the Parent Subsidiary Directive, the Interest and Royalties Directive will cease to exist. Meaning that they wouldn’t be applicable and few of the transactions would now be subject to withholding tax.
- Organizations and enterprises would now need to verify their transactions with UK companies for situations where they are relevant for withholding tax.
- You would need to configure withholding tax as and when required.
Indirect tax / VAT
- BREXIT would have a serious impact on the Indirect tax reporting and organizations would require to create a new tax code, followed by the setup of tax procedures.
- A few transactions might experience VAT changes. For instance, for items that have changed in the base amount, say there’s a discount applied. In such a case, they are liable for intra-stat reporting.
- Legal reporting:
As soon as the legal specifications after the BREXIT come up and are clear, organizations might feel the need to change the conditions as required on government reports such as EC listings. This is probably why all the tax-related outputs would require assessment and analysis in an attempt to ensure their compliance.
- Trade flows:
As the UK plans to leave the EU, it will also cut ties with the European single market. Now this will have serious repercussions on the current trade flows. It is expected that the above would lead to extended costs in terms of customs fees. In addition to the above, there would occur a significant ride in customs declarations leading to higher lead times. Altogether, this would affect the SAP system and must be taken care of.
- Forms and documents:
Lastly, the details or the data entered in the documents, and the forms need to be updated. This might include the POs language, the terms and conditions, invoices, and other documentation, as a whole.
How Stridely Solutions Help?
Having said the above, it’s time that you made the move, inflicting changes to your SAP system and improving your standings on the BREXIT readiness scale.
In case you aren’t sure how to get started, we at Stridely Solutions are happy to help. Backed by a team of experts and skilled professionals, we help organizations modify their business operations and be BREXIT-ready.
We follow a three-step process to enhance and optimize business operations in a way they are all set to operate post BREXIT.
- Assessment:
We begin by assessing the existing processes. Starting with the organizational model to taxes, trade flows, and others, we ascertain the potential impact of Brexit.
- Consultation:
Once we are through, the next step is to have our SAP experts dig deeper into the current set-up of your SAP system. Depending upon the need, they would then suggest changes.
- Drafting a roadmap:
Based on our extensive research and years of experience, we now move ahead to sketch a roadmap in an attempt to modify the SAP system.
In the end, we do all that’s needed to help your organization operate swiftly on and after 31st December.
