UK VAT on imports

The base isn't the invoice price. HMRC builds it from:

1. The customs value, which includes transport and insurance up to the place of introduction
2. Commission, packing, transport and insurance up to the first UK destination, or a further destination known at import
3. Customs Duty, or any levy
4. Excise duty, or other import charges, but not the VAT itself

Example. This is our own illustration. A UK retailer imports wool blankets invoiced at GBP 18,000, with GBP 1,400 of freight and insurance to Felixstowe, GBP 350 of haulage to its Leeds warehouse, and duty assumed at 12% for the example.

Postponed accounting needs no approval. It does need your VAT number on the import declaration, and it needs your agent to be told you want it. On your return, the VAT goes in Box 1 and, if reclaimable, in Box 4, and the net value in Box 7. C79s stay online for six months, so save a copy.

Postponed accounting isn't available for everything. HMRC excludes goods received through the post by Royal Mail Group in consignments over GBP 135, unless you use its commercial non-postal services, and commercial goods in baggage declared through the simple online route.

In the blanket example, a VAT-registered retailer on postponed accounting pays GBP 2,328 in duty and GBP 0 of VAT at the border, so the GBP 4,415.60 doesn't touch its bank account. Without it, GBP 4,415.60 has to be found up front, until the next VAT repayment comes through.

HMRC says you can reclaim VAT on imported goods you own. It follows that:

• A forwarder or agent can't usually reclaim it, unless it's acting as principal under Section 47 of the VAT Act.
• A UK business that isn't VAT-registered pays and can't reclaim.
• A seller shipping DDP that isn't UK VAT-registered can't reclaim. Agree who's importing, and who owns the goods at import, before you ship.
• A consignment of goods for repair or free return that you don't own raises the same point, so take advice.

Keep the C79 or postponed statement as your evidence. It isn't enough to have the broker's invoice.

For goods sent to customers in Great Britain, these don't normally have import VAT at the border. Instead, the overseas seller or online marketplace charges UK VAT at the point of sale, and must register to do so. HMRC's guidance treats direct sales from outside the UK and EU to Northern Ireland differently: import VAT is charged. For a sale to a VAT-registered UK business, the seller doesn't charge VAT if given a valid UK VAT number, and the customer accounts for it through the reverse charge. The limit applies to the whole consignment, not each item, and the rules don't cover excise goods or non-commercial gifts.

If you want to send a parcel of up to GBP 135 to the UK, you have to do this before it ships, so a seller who hasn't registered has a real problem. The Customs Duty relief for these goods is also due to end, on a day set by regulations made by October 2028 at the latest, according to the HMRC policy paper updated on 28 October 2026. See de minimis thresholds. This is general guidance, so check your VAT position with an adviser.