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Brexit Advisory
Our Brexit Advisory team offer insight and guidance surrounding impacts and opportunities that Brexit has created for organisations.
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Corporate Finance
We offer a dedicated team of experienced individuals with a focus on successfully executing transactions for corporates and financial institutions. We offer an integrated approach, with our corporate finance specialists working seamlessly with tax and other specialists to ensure that every angle is covered.
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Digital risk
Grant Thornton offers solutions to the digital risk issues you are sure to face. Our skilled and experienced security team can helping by advising and consulting, giving you peace of mind, clear value for money and an enhanced ability to react to attacks.
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Economic Advisory
Our all-island Economics Advisory team combines expertise in economics and business with a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors.
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eDiscovery
Grant Thornton are the leading provider of eDiscovery services in the country and have been for years. Our incident response team managed the electronic discovery in the largest eDiscovery in Irish history.
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Forensic Accounting
We have a different way of doing business by delivering real insight through a combination of technical rigour, commercial experience and intuitive judgment. We take pride in delivering responsive and tailored solutions to all our clients, capitalising on the wealth of experience housed within our Belfast and wider Forensics team
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People and Change Consulting
The Grant Thornton People & Change Consulting practice works with clients on these issues as well as on all aspects of how they attract, retain, engage develop, deploy and lead their people.
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Restructuring
We work with a wide variety of clients and stakeholders such as high street banks, private equity funds, directors, government agencies and creditors to implement solutions which provide the best possible outcomes.
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Corporate and International tax
Northern Ireland businesses face further challenges as they operate in the only part of the UK that has a land border with a country offering a lower tax rate.
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Employer solutions
Our team specialises in remuneration and incentive planning and works closely with employers, shareholders and employees to ensure that business strategies are aligned and goals achieved in the most tax efficient, cost-effective manner.
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Entrepreneur and private client taxes
Our team of experienced advisors are on hand to guide you through any decision or transaction ranging from the establishment of new business ventures, to realising value on exit, to succession planning and providing for loved ones.
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Global Mobility Services
Grant Thornton offer a different approach to managing global mobility. We have brought together specialists from our tax, global payroll, people and change and financial accounting teams across Ireland and Northern Ireland, while drawing on the knowledge and insights of our global network of over 143 offices of mobility professionals to provide you with a holistic approach to managing global mobility.
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Outsourced Payroll
Our outsourced service provides valued service to over 150 separate PAYE schemes. These ranging from 1 to 1000 employees, working for micro, SME and global employers. The service is supported by the integrated network of tax and global mobility teams and the wider Grant Thornton network delivering a seamless service. Experienced staff deliver a personal service built around your business needs.
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Tax Disputes and Investigations
Our Tax Disputes and Investigation team is made up of tax experts and former HMRC investigators who have years of experience in dealing with a variety of tax investigations. Our expertise and insight can guide you through all interactions, keeping your cost at a minimum while allowing you to continue with the day to day running of your business.
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VAT and Indirect taxes
At Grant Thornton (NI) LLP, our team helps Northern Ireland businesses manage their UK and global indirect tax risks which, as transactional taxes, can quickly become big liabilities.
Following the second defeat of Theresa May’s Brexit deal in Parliament, the UK government has set out its approach to avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March.
Key points
- The UK would not introduce any new checks, controls or customs requirements at the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. Some controls away from the border would be needed in limited cases.
- These measures would only be temporary until a longer term means of avoiding a hard border is agreed.
- They are unilateral – and EU customs controls and tariffs would still apply to goods imported into Ireland from Northern Ireland.
- VAT and excise rules would still apply to goods crossing the border.
Border controls and tariffs
In the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, the UK government would not introduce any new checks, controls or tariffs on goods at the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
It would only apply a small number of measures strictly necessary to comply with international legal obligations, protect the biosecurity of the island of Ireland, or to avoid the highest risks to Northern Ireland businesses - but these measures would not require checks at the border. These measures are set out below.
The UK has announced a new temporary import tariff that would apply to imports into the UK after a ‘no deal’ Brexit, but this would not apply to goods crossing from Ireland into Northern Ireland.
This approach will only be temporary, as the government recognises it presents challenges and risks for maintaining control of the UK’s borders (including using a Northern Ireland as a conduit for EU goods to reach the rest of the UK, avoiding the normal UK tariffs). The UK would therefore enter into discussions urgently with the European Commission and Irish government to jointly agree long-term measures to avoid a hard border.
These are unilateral measures by the UK, and so do not impact the EU customs controls and tariffs that would apply when goods are imported into Ireland from Northern Ireland. It remains to be seen whether the EU would allow Ireland to introduce similar measures. If Ireland does not reciprocate, this could impact the competitiveness of Northern Ireland businesses, as there will be more barriers to exporting from Northern Ireland to Ireland, than vice versa.
Applicable controls
These include:
- animals and animal products from countries outside the EU would need to enter Northern Ireland through a Border Inspection Post and regulated plant material from outside the EU would require certification and checks at trader premises;
- high risk plant material entering Northern Ireland from the EU would require electronic pre-notification, replacing the current EU plant passport schemes; and
- electronic notifications would be required for trade in dangerous chemicals, ozone depleting substances and F-gases.
VAT treatment
Goods arriving from Ireland would still be subject to the appropriate VAT and excise duty as today.
VAT registered businesses that acquire goods from Ireland would continue to account for VAT on their normal VAT returns, as a result of the postponed import VAT accounting that has already been announced by the UK government.
Small businesses trading across the border, not currently VAT registered, would be able to report VAT online periodically, without any new processes at the border. This will impose an additional burden on those businesses, and they will need to consider whether a UK VAT registration is worthwhile.
Irish businesses sending parcels to Northern Ireland would need to register with HMRC and account for UK VAT on these goods (although this would not apply to gifts).
As above, these measures do not impact the Irish VAT treatment. Imports of goods into Ireland would still be subject to Irish import VAT, which would potentially need to be paid when the goods cross the border (although the Irish government has announced it will also introduce postponed import VAT accounting for Irish VAT registered businesses in a ‘no deal’ scenario).
What should businesses do?
While this announcement removes some of the risks for Northern Ireland businesses, substantial issues remain for businesses exporting to Ireland, and importing or exporting to the rest of the EU.
We have been working with clients from a wide range of sectors, covering all aspects of Brexit planning and have outlined some of the essentials to include in your Brexit plan here.
