UK confirms postponed import VAT accounting from January 2021

2 April 2020

From 1 January 2021, the UK government has confirmed that it will introduce postponed import Value Added Tax (VAT) accounting to all imports of goods. 

By introducing this new mechanism, it will allow all UK VAT registered businesses to avoid having to pay VAT on the clearance of their goods into the UK. Instead, the import VAT amounts will be postponed to the VAT returns and will be entered in the same way as a reverse charge transaction.

It is hoped that this will result in savings on shipping costs and bank charges for the companies who import goods regularly, as well as improve their cash flow as they will no longer have to wait for import VAT to be refunded by the UK tax authorities (HMRC).

LATEST NEWS

France introduces €2 customs charge on a per item...

From 1 March 2026, France will levy a €2 “taxe sur les petits colis” charge on low‑value imports (under €150) brought into France from non‑EU...

SEE MORE
VAT news
LATEST NEWS

EU confirms €3 flat rate customs duty on low value...

In February 2026, the Council of the EU formally approved the removal of the EU’s threshold‑based customs duty relief (the €150 de‑minimis) with effect...

SEE MORE
VAT news
LATEST NEWS

Azerbaijan introduces mandatory VAT Registration for...

Azerbaijan has approved significant reforms to its VAT rules for non‑resident digital service providers, moving from a withholding‑based model to a...

SEE MORE
VAT news

Gated Content

The following email providers are not accepted: gmail, hotmail, yahoo. Please use proper company email.