Postponed VAT Accounting for Imports

Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) lets you account for import VAT directly on your VAT Return instead of paying HMRC upfront at the border. This improves your cashflow because you declare and reclaim the VAT in the same return, rather than paying it first and waiting to recover it later. This article explains how to access your monthly statements and use them to complete your VAT Return correctly.

What postponed VAT accounting means for your business

When you import goods into the UK, you normally owe import VAT at the point of entry. With postponed VAT accounting, you don't pay this VAT upfront. Instead, you report it on your VAT Return in Box 1 (VAT you owe) and, provided you're entitled to reclaim it under the normal VAT rules, you also claim it back in Box 4 (VAT you can reclaim) on the same return.

This means the import VAT becomes cashflow-neutral rather than requiring upfront payment followed by later recovery.

Getting your monthly postponed VAT statements

HMRC provides a monthly statement showing all the import VAT you've postponed in the previous month. These statements are published on your Customs Declaration Service account and are usually available by the 10th working day of each month.

You need these statements to complete your VAT Return accurately. Each statement shows the total import VAT postponed during that month, broken down by port of entry and individual import declarations.

Important: You can only access each statement for 6 months from the date it's published. You must download and save a copy to your records during this time. Statements older than 6 months are archived. If you need to access archived statements, guidance is available on your Customs Declaration Service dashboard.

How to access your statements

To get your postponed VAT statements, you'll need:

• A Government Gateway user ID and password (you can create one when you start if you don't have one)
• Your EORI number (the number used to identify you for customs purposes)

You cannot use an agent or intermediary's Government Gateway user ID to access your statements — you must use your own.

If you haven't accessed the Customs Declaration Service before, you'll need to subscribe to it first to tell HMRC about your business.

Understanding your monthly statement

Your postponed VAT statement has two parts.

Part 1: Summary

Page 1 shows your overall postponed import VAT activity for the month, including:

• Your VAT registration number
• Your EORI number
• The total amount of import VAT to account for on your VAT Return for that month
• The port where goods entered the UK (if known)
• The amount of import VAT postponed at each port of entry
• The total import VAT postponed at all ports — this matches the total you must account for

Part 2: Individual entries

Starting on page 2, this section lists each individual import under each port of entry. The list may continue across multiple pages. Each entry shows:

• Date of import (when HMRC accepted your declaration)
• Entry number (HMRC's unique identifier for each entry) — the date at the end shows when HMRC cleared the declaration
• Declarant's reference number (helps you identify specific imports)
• Declarant's EORI number (if someone made the declaration on your behalf, their EORI appears here)
• Amount of import VAT to account for on your VAT Return

You can ignore the warehouse code numbers section — it's not currently in use.

If you can't access your statements

HMRC is aware that some importers experience problems accessing their monthly statements. If you cannot access your statement, you can estimate your import VAT figures for the affected months.

Your estimate should be as accurate as possible, based on:

• The amount you paid for the goods
• Other costs you agreed to cover, such as packaging, transport, and insurance
• Optionally, any customs duties due on the goods (you can include these but don't have to)

Once you can access the service and download your actual statement, you must make an adjustment on your next VAT Return to reflect the difference between your estimate and the real figure.

HMRC will not penalise you for errors, provided you take reasonable care to follow this guidance.

If you're having problems with your statements, contact the imports and exports helpline.

If you're in a VAT group

If your business is part of a VAT group and you import goods, you'll have your own EORI number and must access your own postponed VAT statement. Send your statement to the representative group member, as they need statements from all group members to complete the VAT Return for the whole group.

Using your statements to complete your VAT Return

Use your monthly statement to account for postponed import VAT on your VAT Return. The total shown on the statement is the amount you declare. Your statement also provides evidence of VAT you can reclaim, subject to the normal VAT reclaim rules.

If you've previously estimated the import VAT for certain entries (because you delayed your declaration or couldn't access your statement), you only need to account for the difference between your estimate and the actual amount shown on the statement for those entries.

Sources

• Get your postponed import VAT statement
• Understanding your monthly postponed import VAT statements

This article provides general guidance based on current HMRC rules. For advice specific to your situation, speak to your accountant.