Submit an Import One Stop Shop VAT return as an intermediary on behalf of your client
How to submit your client's Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) VAT return as an intermediary.
Intermediary registrations for the VAT Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) scheme will be available from 1 April 2026.
Before you submit an IOSS VAT return on behalf of your client, you should find out how to complete the return as an intermediary and the records your client must keep.
When to submit your client’s return
You must submit your client’s return and pay the VAT owed on behalf of your client by the last day of the month, following the end of each tax period.
If your client has not sold any goods in the EU or Northern Ireland (or both) during a tax period, you must submit a nil return on their behalf. This means you’ll give a ‘no’ response to each question on the return and submit it as normal.
If you submit a nil return for a client for 2 years, HMRC will cancel that client’s registration.
| Tax period | Date you can submit from | Date you must submit by |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1 February | 28 February or 29 February |
| February | 1 March | 31 March |
| March | 1 April | 30 April |
| April | 1 May | 31 May |
| May | 1 June | 30 June |
| June | 1 July | 31 July |
| July | 1 August | 31 August |
| August | 1 September | 30 September |
| September | 1 October | 31 October |
| October | 1 November | 30 November |
| November | 1 December | 31 December |
| December | 1 January (of the following year) | 31 January (of the following year) |
If you miss the deadline
HMRC will issue you a reminder 10 days after the date you should have submitted your client’s return by.
You will have 10 days from when we send this reminder to submit your client’s return or payment.
If you miss this deadline for a client for 3 consecutive periods, you and all your client’s will be excluded from the scheme. This means your registration as an intermediary and all your client’s registrations will be automatically cancelled. You may also need to pay a penalty, interest or both.
You and the client whose returns you have not filed will be excluded from the scheme for 2 years (this is known as the quarantine period). Your other clients will not be subject to the 2 year quarantine period and can register for the scheme direct (if eligible) or through a different intermediary.
This exclusion will take effect on the first day following the exclusion decision and will last for a minimum of 2 years.
If you disagree with the exclusion
If you or your client disagree with HMRC’s decision to exclude you from the scheme, you or your client can either:
- request a review
- appeal to the tax tribunal
Find out what to do if you disagree with an indirect tax decision.
Submit a IOSS VAT return on behalf of your client
You can use this service to:
- submit your client’s latest return
- correct errors from a client’s previous return in their next or a later return
If you’ve made a mistake on one of your client’s previous returns, you’ll need to wait until their next return to correct it. You’ll be able to correct your client’s return to:
- change the total VAT amounts you’ve previously declared for any country
- add VAT amounts on sales for any country that you did not include on a previous return
If you over-declare the amount of VAT due on sales made by your client in a tax period to consumers in:
- Northern Ireland, HMRC will be responsible for issuing a refund
- the EU, the country where you have over-declared will be responsible for any refund
To use this service, you need the Government Gateway user ID and password you used when you registered for UK VAT. Once you’ve signed in you can access your client’s IOSS VAT return by selecting ‘start a return’ in the ‘returns’ section of your VAT IOSS intermediary account.
Registration to act as an intermediary for the VAT Import One IOSS scheme will be available from 1 April 2026.
Online services may be slow during busy times. Check if there are any problems with this service.
After you’ve submitted your client’s return
You’ll receive a unique payment reference for each client’s return that you submit.
Find out how to pay the VAT due on your client’s IOSS VAT Return.