Guidance

How to claim VAT relief on goods imported for onward supply to an EU country

If you import goods into Northern Ireland from outside the EU for onward supply to the EU, find out about claiming Onward Supply Relief.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 26 April 2021

If you want to claim Onward Supply Relief, you should:

1. Check if you can claim the relief.

2. Find out what you’ll need.

3. Make your claim.

4. Find out what happens after you’ve claimed.

What you’ll need

In your import declaration you must include:

• your VAT identification number – this will begin Y040GB if you’re importing the goods yourself and Y042GB if you’re importing them as an agent for someone else
• the expected place and date of onward consignment
• the particulars of onward transport
• the name, address and VAT identification number of the purchaser in the EU country of destination – this must include the Y041 prefix followed by the 2 digit country code
• your customs procedure code
• your commodity code

You’ll also need:

• to get an XI EORI
• access to the Customs Declaration Service
• a Government Gateway user ID and password – if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you sign in
• software that can submit declarations

How to claim

You can claim the relief when making your import declaration.

You must make sure the correct customs procedure code is used or your claim may be refused.

After you’ve claimed

You must:

• include the goods on your EC Sales Lists
• record the EU trade figures on your VAT Return

If you do not comply

If you do not meet the conditions for the relief, HMRC will issue a C18 demand for the import VAT. Find out more about customs debt liability.

Published 26 April 2021