NEWS ROUND-UP TRBusiness petition breaks 10,000 signatures


before hitting 10,000 on the evening of 2 December. The campaign has received fervent


support from across the travel, tourism and retail industries, including endorsements from the DFWC, ETRC, TFWA and UKTRF. Pressure against the Treasury continues


A monumental effort from businesses and individuals alike resulted in TRBusiness’ ‘Keep tax-free sales at airports and the VAT Retail Export Scheme’ petition surpassing 10,000 signatures in December. The UK government is now mandated


to respond. TRBusiness launched the petition in


Source: daa


Ireland-UK duty free sales as end of transition nears


UK-bound travellers from Ireland are set to enjoy duty and tax free purchases at ports and airports from 1 January. This publication has it on good authority


that the Irish government recently gave the green light to proposals, although these are understood to hinge on the 2020 Brexit Omnibus Bill being passed into law by the Oireachtas (Ireland’s national parliament). Should this occur, it would represent


a significant breakthrough for the lobby after concerns surfaced last year regarding proposed amendments to the bill that focused on preserving the ‘status quo’ between the UK and Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The development is now understood to


give weight to Ireland reciprocating the UK’s policy to enable duty free shopping and surfaced via an update on Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs website. A daa spokesperson said: “This is the


Irish government formally codifying its previous position that the stance on duty free in the Republic of Ireland would mirror the position in the UK.”


4 TRBUSINESS


October in reaction to what many view as an extremely ill-timed and illogical decision to remove the airside extra statutory concession at UK airports and VAT RES for international tourists to the UK. The petition breached 7,000 signatures


on 13 November and racked up a whirlwind 1,000 signatures in less than 48 hours


to stiffen to reverse a decision that could put at risk thousands of jobs and cause major harm to Britain’s already beleaguered businesses across the UK’s retail and aviation sectors, among others. The Office for Budget Responsibility


(OBR) has said axing the VAT Res scheme would save around £360 million, rather than the circa £520 million initially estimated. Shortly before this edition went to press,


the government laid a statutory instrument formalising the abolition of tax free sales in January 2021. The campaign to overturn the decision


continues. [visit TRBusiness.com for the latest developments on the story].


Global Blue: Shoppers ‘increasingly eager’ to travel


Research undertaken by tax refund specialist Global Blue has found that international shoppers are increasingly eager to return to overseas travel. In a survey of 16,000 international


shoppers from the top spending nationalities – China, South East Asia, GCC, Russia and the US – 66% of those said they were ready to travel as soon as border restrictions ease. In June and July, the figures were at 50%


and 60%, respectively. For a second consecutive quarter,


affluent and frequent international shoppers have shown the strongest desire to return to travel, with 72% stating they would travel when quarantines are lifted. This rose to 73% among affluent and


frequent shoppers from China, 92% among countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar) and almost 100% among those from Russia. The survey indicates that 50% of Chinese


shoppers and 66% of South East Asian shoppers feel Asian destinations are safe to visit.


DECEMBER 2020


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