This guidance is produced in partnership with Deloitte, the BRC’s Annual Trade Partner 2020/21. 

In addition to customs formalities which are now required for goods brought into the UK from the EU following the end of the Brexit transition period, many businesses also face the prospect of paying import VAT on goods brought from EU Member States into the UK.

In many cases, retailers will be able to recover such costs through the VAT return via the monthly postponed import VAT accounting (“PVA”) statement (or a using C79 certificate if import VAT is paid at the time of import).

However, businesses should be aware of HMRC’s policy of not permitting import VAT recovery where a taxpayer does not own the goods at importation. As this policy applies to goods entering the UK from the EU, the increased scope for potential irrecoverable input tax highlights the importance for retailers of understanding their supply chain and underlying documents.

Read the full report on Important VAT Recovery here:

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

Through our partnership with Deloitte and their market-leading Global Trade Advisory team, Global Trade Bureau and Global Brexit Insights, we’re able to bring additional guidance, support and expertise to our retail members.

By virtue of our Partnership with Deloitte, BRC members can also benefit from additional support on customs declarations.

  • Looking for third party support? BRC members can benefit from a 15% discount on the Deloitte customs declarations service.
  • Managing customs compliance in-house? BRC members are invited to take part in trials of a new Deloitte technology platform that uses automated intelligence to enable businesses to prepare and submit their own customs declarations.
If you want to take advantage of the discounted service or learn more about preparing customs declarations in-house, please contact: