In the Dec. 27 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

In the Dec. 23 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom on Dec. 20 released summaries of its trade agreements with Morocco, Kosovo and Jordan to take effect after Great Britain leaves the European Union. The summaries contain information on provisions on intellectual property, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, preferential tariffs and quotas, and more.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade on Dec. 20 updated its collection of open general export licenses for exports to Saudi Arabia. The changes updated OGELs and open general trade control licenses that permit exports to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners carrying out military operations in Yemen, the DIT said.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade updated its firearms export control forms, according to a Dec. 23 notice. The forms contain information on various export licenses used by the country’s firearms and ammunition exporters.

KPMG on Dec. 20 released an alert on value-added tax identification numbers in the European Union’s upcoming “quick fixes” VAT reform system, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. The identification numbers will be used to apply exemptions for supplies within the EU, KPMG said. Previously, VAT exemptions could not be refused “merely because of the fact that the supplier did not receive a valid VAT identification number from the customer.” With the upcoming change, the use of a valid identification number of the customer will be “a material condition of the VAT exemption for intra-Community supplies,” KPMG said. If the customer does not provide a valid number, the supplier “cannot apply the VAT exemption and will need to invoice local VAT of the EU Member State of dispatch of the goods.”

The European Commission released a Dec. 20 guidance on the upcoming changes to its value-added tax measures as part of its “2020 Quick Fixes,” an effort aimed at simplifying trade and tax measures among EU member states. The guidance provides information on VATs relating to “call-off stock arrangements, chain transactions and the exemption for intra-Community supplies of goods,” which are scheduled to take effect across most member states (see 1912120015) by Jan. 1. The 85-page “explanatory notes” provide “help in understanding” the new VAT provisions, the commission said, and are the result of discussions with member states and EU industry representatives. The guidance is “not legally binding,” “not comprehensive” and is still a “work in progress,” the commission stressed, stating that member states may issue their own VAT guidance. The guidance provides information on exporting goods to member states, destruction or loss of goofs, definitions of certain VAT-related terms and more.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation corrected an entry under its Venezuela sanctions regime, OFSI said in a Dec. 19 notice. The change amended identifying information for the listing for Tibisay Lucena Ramirez, who is still subject to an asset freeze, OFSI said.

In the Dec. 19-20 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom Parliament on Dec. 20 voted 358-234 to advance implementing legislation for the U.K.’s transition deal for its withdrawal from the European Union. The bill’s passage on its “second reading” means it will now head to committee, where amendments will be considered before the full Parliament votes on final passage of the bill after its “third reading.” A new provision added to the bill would legally prohibit the U.K. government from extending the transition period past Dec. 31, 2020, which has some worried about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit or a rushed final agreement with the EU (see 1912130063). Further parliamentary debate is currently set for Jan. 7-9, 2020, according to a BBC report. Once passed, the bill would also have to be rubber-stamped by the House of Lords.