Retail Compass Winter edition 2020

Published on 20 January 2020

Welcome to the Winter 2020 edition of Retail Compass – our guide to key upcoming legal and policy changes affecting Retail and our thoughts on the need-to-know issues.

2020 is set to be another fascinating year for retail. Despite the negative headlines you will read in the newspapers, good retailers are still flourishing and we expect to see those who embrace the new trends in the industry to continue to grab market share. Expect to see more personalisation of products and experiences, the digital and physical worlds combining more effectively, the increasing importance of supply chains in delivering what the customer wants and sustainability moving to the top of all retailers’ agendas.

As for previous editions of Retail Compass, we have captured the key upcoming developments for the first part of the year in the horizon-scanning pieces (see pages 5 to 11). April 2020 is set to be a busy month with the Digital Services Tax, extension of IR35 and aspects of the Good Work Plan (to name a few) coming in that month. We’ve also included some shorter pieces which focus on other interesting things going on that we think will impact those in Retail, this includes a look at the Criminal Finances Act two years on.

We continue to include key statistics and links to our legislation tracker and list all of the UK Government consultations and enquiries relevant to Retail. We’ve also included some shorter pieces which focus on other interesting things going on that we think will impact those in Retail, this includes the impact of cyber breaches within the retail industry, counterfeiting of luxury goods, and a look at the Criminal Finances Act two years on.

We hope this edition is helpful for your business. We would love to hear any feedback or comments so please feel free to contact us.

 

 

Headline legal and policy developments

31 January 2020: Brexit – the transition period and its implications for retailers

As per the Conservative government’s manifesto, the UK will likely be leaving the European Union by 31 January 2020.  Read more

6 April 2020: Change to tax on termination payments

Tax on termination payments is changing so that employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) at 13.8% will be payable on any part of a payment that is subject to income tax.  Read more


6 April 2020: The Good Work Plan

Aspects of the Good Work Plan (GWP) will be implemented by the UK government on 6 April 2020.  Read more


April 2020: New Digital Services Tax

From April 2020, a new 2% tax will be introduced by the government on the revenues of social media platforms, search engines and online marketplaces.  Read more


April 2020: Review of price cap for rent-to-own retailers

In 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced a price cap on retailers selling household goods on a rent-to-own “buy-now, pay-later” basis (FCA Rules).  Read more


April 2020: Extension of IR35

The Employment Intermediaries Rules (commonly referred to as IR35) were introduced (with effect from 6 April 2000) to address the potential loss of revenue from individuals seeking to avoid paying employee income tax and National Insurance (NI) by supplying their services via an intermediary, eg a personal service company (PSC), taking income as dividends.  Read more

April 2020: "Track and Trace" for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco products

The introduction of the Tobacco Products (Traceability and Security Features) Regulations 2019 means that from 20 May 2020 retailers selling cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco will only be permitted to sell these products if they are “Track and Trace” compliant as per the changes in the regulations.  Read more


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Retail Compass winter edition 2020

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