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Foreign Office travel advice updates
Latest travel information for British nationals affected by the situation in the Middle East.
Check if you need a UK visa
You may need a visa to come to the UK to visit, study or work.
Apply to use simplified declarations for imports you entered in your records without authorisation
Choose how you’ll make supplementary declarations for goods that you entered into your own records without authorisation.
UKEF backs Leicester sustainable packaging firm in Australian expansion
UK Export Finance announces support for a UK luxury sustainable packaging company to expand into new foreign markets.
Hundreds of new UK jobs as Nigerian companies confirm millions in investment
Hundreds of new UK jobs are set to be created as Nigerian companies scale up their operations, reinforcing Britain's position as a leading global business hub.
Capital Control And VAT Changes In Greece
Our Managing Director in Athens provides a summary of Greek capital control and VAT changes over recent weeks. You may have seen the news posted last week about the abolishment of reduced VAT rates on six popular holiday islands. From 1 October 2015, the Greek mainland VAT rates of 6%, 13% and 23% have applied on the islands of Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and Skiathos
Businesses based on the above islands must adjust their prices and update their software and devices. These changes also impact the filing of VAT returns.
Capital Controls
Following is a summary of what is allowed under the current capital control measures.
- The opening of a bank account for all new established companies and professionals (with a date of incorporation after 1 May 2015) is allowed.
- The opening of one single bank account (not for cash withdrawal) is allowed for servicing any loan taken before or after the end of the bank holiday (caused by capital controls) by the financial institution in which the loan has been opened.
- The use of credit or debit cards is allowed for buying goods and services abroad. Buying goods from abroad is allowed in general however there are some exceptions (eg. clothing market, online betting).
- The early loan payoff is exceptionally allowed (partial or total) with cash, remittances from abroad and with a new loan for the purpose of restructuring.
- The early ending of time deposits is exceptionally allowed for the payment of hospitalization and tuition, payroll, overdue debts to the banks, and Greek public and social security departments.
