COMMENT The silver lining, with a caveat
Now and Then... S
o here we are. Volume 22, issue 10 of TRBusiness.
A grand voyage through more than two decades of publishing, arriving at another flagship
October issue coinciding with this year’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes. Twenty years ago this issue marked three
months since the ban on intra-EU duty kicked in. While The Duty Free Business’s astute reporting hacks had unsurprisingly been nestled at the frontline in the lead-up to the fated issue, providing vital commentary and opinion, jostling and cajoling with the lobby in defence of a significant artery of the business, the real news was to be had in the immediate aftermath. On page 11 of the October 1999 edition,
UK Customs and Excise had granted a three-month extension from 1 July 1999 to permit French duty rate sales to persist when ships entered UK waters on the basis that customers remain in the shops and no further customers were allowed to enter. This preceded a further six-month concession to run until 31 March 2000. Customs also made another concession by extending the duty suspension period for ‘mixed economy’ airports (selling duty free and duty paid goods side-by-side) for one month following pressure from a UK duty free task force. Clarity – yet alone concessions – for UK
travel retail remains top of the agenda as the 31 October Brexit deadline looms. As reported by TRBusiness, the UKTRF has welcomed the lifting of excise duty and taxes on tobacco and alcohol to EU-bound travellers, but [correct at the time of writing] remains concerned over a decision not to remove VAT on all other airside product category purchases should a no-deal Brexit transpire. A source from the lobby expressed a sense of befuddlement to TRBusiness following the announcement from the HM Treasury, calling the Government’s stance ‘highly confusing for the passenger’ not to mention a ‘retrograde step’ for UK airports who will be competing ‘with one arm tied behind their back’ from day one. Indeed, the UKTRF is seeking to reverse a
162 TRBUSINESS
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UK Customs grant concessions post intra- EU abolition on page 11; Brexit lingers today.
decision it views as creating ‘an immediate and significant competitive disadvantage against European competitors’. What is also unclear though is how the
new regime would apply to cruise ships and ferries, which operate under special dispensation to sell duty free and tax free goods based on the territories and waters they frequent. Of course, all this may well be elementary; as it stands, decisions regarding the return of duty free sales have charged into the spotlight in the eventuality of a no- deal Brexit. The threat of such a scenario has died down significantly after a bill to stop it received Royal Assent in the UK Parliament last month. The Prime Minister has since failed twice in attempts to call a General Election, but things could still change. In the meantime, the associations are
calling for preparedness in any situation and retailers have their ears to the ground. Speaking to TRBusiness in the Top 10
Operators Report, ARI Deputy CEO Anthony Kenny says ARI has a Brexit-readiness team in place, has actively engaged with customs and suppliers to prepare, and has been ready since the original March deadline. Should duty free return, it would certainly represent a silver lining in an otherwise long, drawn-out and perpetually uncertain situation. «
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OCTOBER 2019
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