News

Tickets are now available for Summit19, the definitive convenience event of the year.

Summit19 is an unmissable conference, bringing together leading figures in the convenience sector with industry experts from around the world to take part in a discussion about the opportunities for retailers and suppliers in convenience, both now and in the future. This year’s conference will address two critical questions facing the sector, in two business sessions:

ACS has reiterated its calls to Government to publish details of how retailers can apply for the codes that they will need to comply with the upcoming track and trace regulations after HMRC launched a further consultation on the details of the regulations.

The Government has developed new resources to help businesses prepare for all scenarios following the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The new resources include leaflets and short videos that focus on traders preparing for a no deal EU Exit at the UK Border which also sign-post to more detailed information on their website.

The ACS Crime Seminar is an exclusive and insightful day split into three sessions on tackling violence, protecting cash in-store and sharing best practice. The sessions are designed to provide practical approaches to managing crime in your business.

Taking place on 26th March at Church House in Westminster, the event provides retailers with the opportunity to ask the panels of leading industry experts about how to tackle crime in their stores.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have published new guidance for the Retail Sector on Preparing for EU Exit. The guidance includes information on importing and exporting, regulations and standards and employing EU workers.

The new guidance suggests that retailers should contact the organisation responsible for moving their goods, such as a haulage firm. The guidance also signposts to the government tool, Prepare for EU Exit, which provides more detailed guidance on policy changes.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has criticised the Government for rejecting the recommendation of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee to delay the mandatory introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT by one year to April 2020. 

MTD reforms will require VAT registered businesses to submit their VAT records digitally using compatible software. The policy reforms aim to reduce the tax gap and help businesses have a more accurate overview of their tax affairs.

The Government have responded to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on hand car washes, agreeing with recommendations to update pollution prevention guidance on the Gov.uk website, and writing to major supermarkets to remind them that hand car washes must have appropriate drainage to tackle pollution.

ACS has welcomed the launch of a new inquiry into business rates, calling on the Treasury to look closely into how rates affect essential services like petrol forecourts and free to use cash machines. 

The Treasury Select Committee has launched the inquiry into business rates to scrutinise how Government policy has impacted business. The Committee will examine how Business Rates policy has changed, including Business Rates retention, alternatives to property-based taxes, such as the proposed digital services tax, and how changes to Business Rates could impact businesses.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to figures obtained by the Press Association (PA) about the incidents of shop theft in the UK. According to the figures, Police from forces in England and Wales investigated 78,110 incidents of shop theft in UK supermarkets 2017, an almost 8% increase from 72,423 in 2014.

Following forecasts of heavy snow this week in parts of the UK, ACS is advising retailers to follow the Department for Transport’s Snow Code when moving snow and ice outside their stores. Under Health and Safety law, businesses are required (so far as is reasonably practicable) to keep routes into the store free from anything that may cause a person to slip, trip or fall.