In the Aug. 7 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Slovakia proposed several changes to its value-added tax law that will provide new rules on a VAT exemption for taxable goods “relating to the international trade in customs and special warehouses,” KPMG said in an Aug. 6 post. The proposals also extend a requirement “concerning adjustments to the input VAT deduction (via a capital goods scheme) to purchases of services related to these goods,” the post said. The measures would take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

The United Kingdom is working with Nigeria to boost the country’s exports and increase trade relations, the U.K. said in an Aug. 6 press release. As Alok Sharma, U.K.’s secretary for international development, visited Nigeria, the U.K. said it is working to help Nigeria’s Export Promotion Council diversify its exports, help “non-oil exporters comply with British standards” and encourage more trading between the U.K. and Nigeria. “A prosperous, growing and trading Nigeria is firmly in the UK’s interests and our relationship will continue to thrive as we leave the EU,” Sharma said in a statement.

The European Commission released a compliance guide for dual-use trade controls that details “common approaches” to compliance programs and lays out a “framework” to help exporters minimize risks, the commission said in an Aug. 5 notice. The guide outlines seven “core elements” that are “cornerstones for a company’s tailor made” internal compliance program: top-level management commitment to compliance; organizational structure responsibilities and resources; training and awareness raising; transaction screening processes and procedures; performance, review audits, reporting and corrective actions; recordkeeping and documentation; and physical and information security. For each element, the guide contains a “What is expected?” section and “What are the steps involved?” section to help companies assess their own programs. The guide emphasizes that the “most important aspect” of developing compliance programs is ensuring they’re “relevant to the company's organisation and activities,” easy to follow and “capture the day-to-day operations and procedures.”

In the Aug. 1-6 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

German customs seized more than $1 billion worth of cocaine in a container shipped from Uruguay, according to an Aug. 1 Associated Press report. The drugs, about 5 tons, were seized in mid-July, when customs officers checked a container listed as soya beans that was en route from Montevideo to Antwerp, Belgium, the report said. The container held black sports bags with more than 4,000 packets of cocaine in 211 bags, the report said, which was Germany’s biggest cocaine single seizure of cocaine to date.

Britain will create up to 10 "freeports" to reduce costs and boost trade after it leaves the European Union, the country said Aug. 1. Ports and airports across the United Kingdom can bid to become one of the freeports, the country said, and the U.K. will have a Freeports Advisory Panel composed of the ministers of the Department of International Trade and HM Treasury, along with trade and business experts, some of whom were identified in the release.

Antwerp’s MPET Terminal will no longer accept physical customs documents “with [movement reference numbers] MRN for export containers,” beginning Aug. 12, according to an Aug. 1 email alert from Hapag-Lloyd. Paper customs documents without MRN are still required at the terminal, including military 302 documents, “export or T1 customs documents issued under an emergency procedure” and “carnet ATA documents,” the alert said. All customs documents with MRN must be registered in advance through the “C-Point eDesk application,” the alert said. Other terminals are expected to begin similar procedures in the “near future, Hapag-Lloyd said.

In the July 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

In the July 30 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: