Customs oldtimer

Hi Rob Allen Unless you have an EU EORI number and established somewhere in the EU or have an indirect customs representative it is unlike that you could be the importer in ROI. If you agreed with your carrier to pay import taxes they will invoice you whoever is the importer. You would also need to be VAT registered in ROI to either recover import VAT yourself or invoice your customer ROI VAT. You can of course invoice your customer for the charge s you have incurred but as it wouldn’t be considered a VAT charge then it wouldn’t be recoverable. If your customer is the named importer and their VAT number declared the it’s probable that they could recover the import VAT or use PVA . But as i said before it’s best to check with Irish Revenue.

If you bought something from overseas you need to check with them how duties and taxes are to be paid - usually in their T&Cs . Some will say DDP meaning they pay the taxes directly usually to the carrier who in turn pay HMRC. The price you pay will usually include those charges . There are some duty but not vat reliefs for goods below £135. You pay vat on an import just as you would have to if you bought something in a shop . Everything is declared to customs and not released until the charges have been paid or secured by someone. So usually if the parcel has been delivered there is nothing for you to declare to HMRC as that has already been done. There is no difference for personal use or business use except there is no requirement for a private individual to have an EORI.

i didn’t mention it in my earlier post but you also need to download statements for PVA so you know what amounts you need to put on your VAT return . As you know how to download C79s you shouldn’t find this too difficult. At least this way you are not out of pocket waiting for the reclaim.

As I am not an HMRC employee I cannot answer why you are having issues with your C79s . I hope HMRC can sort this out. You may be better off for future imports using postponed import vat accounting. This means that you don’t pay and reclaim but instead account for the amounts as both input and output tax on your next VAT return. This is available to all uk VAT registered businesses you just need to instruct your customs agent to use it.

The Value you use will be based on normal valuation rules and will therefore depend on whether the goods have been sold to someone else whilst they have been in CW. If they haven’t been sold prior to removal then the original price you paid when the goods arrived in the UK can be used. You will be the importer on the removal declaration. I don’t see where you possibly needing to be exporter could possibly come in in a declaration for free circulation out of a CW. The exporter will be the party that exported the goods to the UK.

Hi Rob Allen I am assuming when you say Ireland you mean ROI. If you are VAT registered and exporting goods then the goods are zero rated for UK VAT but subject to import VAT and possibly duties in Ireland . If this is a question about import VAT recovery in ROI then this is really a question for the Irish Revenue. In general terms VAT recovery on imports will depend on who is declared as the importer and also who has the right to VAT recovery in local legislation. If you are using DDP do you mean incoterms or a parcel delivery service terms . They are different but either way be very clear who is responsible for what not only for the taxes .

In addition this is important to clarify for the following reasons. For decades in the UK there has been a requirement to have a EORI number that is based on your VAT number to generate a C79nor PVA statement. Most customs agents even when acting as an indirect representative will use both their clients and their own EORI when making a declaration.

The C79 amount should reflect exactly the import VAT paid to HMRC as this is generated by the customs declaration. It is the C79 that is the proof of the input vat recovery amount not the invoice from the delivery company . It’s hard to provide exact comment on the invoice but The invoice from the delivery company is likely to include the disbursement for any Import VAT they paid on your behalf. It may also include some charges for customs duties and charges they make for them to pay or collect the taxes from you. It’s worth checking details of the invoice.

Hi HMRC Admin I think they key point being made by Weronika is that this is not an isolated incident but something that is happening to multiple overseas VAT applicants. There have also been some other threads reporting the same type of issue. Is there a system issue or has there been a change of policy or procedures from HMRC.

Hi Standard method 1 valuation can’t be used for returned goods as there is no sale. The value must therefore be determined by use of one of the other valuation methods. Check out the working out the customs value of your goods webpage on .gov website. Even if you think the value declared is too high there still shouldn’t be any duty to pay. You can usually only claim import VAT relief if the exporter and importer are the same and the goods were not zero rated at export. Most companies will zero rate an export for UK VAT . So you may not be eligible for VAT relief at import in any case. Again if you have paid VAT then you should still be able to reclaim it though your VAT return as a C79 will be generated . Is there any reason why you can’t recover the import VAT through your VAT return. This is easier than getting the entry amended. I am also surprised that postponed VAT was not used as means of securing the VAT amount. If you do insist on amending the entry then you can ask your agent to do this. If duty has been overpaid a c285 must be submitted however note the wording of the notes to reclaims reproduced below with regard to import VAT. If you are a VAT registered business, you must not use form C285 to claim for repayment of overpaid VAT, any adjustment must be made through your VAT return. Adjustments to a VAT return are subject to normal VAT rules