VAT deferment charge

[japancool]

On my last import of goods from the EU, I was charged a deferment charge of £50 on the invoice from Dachser.

On querying this, they tell me that HMRC say that it has to go into a deferment account.

But when I import via UPS or DHL, I just pay when the goods arrive. There is no deferment charge.

Is that right, that VAT has to go into a deferment account? I'd rather not pay this charge if possible.

 

[Mike Foulds]

Hi There.

A deferment charge is a fee charged by the clearance agent, for paying out Duty/Vat on your behalf. It is normally charged either a) Based on the value of the duty/vat being paid to customs, or b) as a Minimum fee.

Whilst alot of agents DO have a deferment, and have put a guarantee amount with HMRC to cover Duty, some have a VAT only deferment, which has no guarantee, and others pay each shipment using a bank transfer each time (With an agent the size of Dascher, I am sure they have a deferment, but haven't worked with them on clearances for years, so cannot be sure)

If your goods are of very low value, and there is no duty/vat payable, then you don't have to pay it.

What MAY help you if you want, is to tell Dascher that you would like to pay HMRC yourselves, and ask them for the IEPN and payment reference details including HMRC bank account. You should then be able to make payment directly, and not pay any deferment fee.

For reference, if the £50 is a minimum cost with Dascher, I would consider that on the high side.

Good luck.

 

[japancool]

Thanks Mike.

Since I don't have a deferment account, I'm using Dachser's.

The VAT payable was only aound £350, and an extra £50 makes quite a difference to the total so I'd rather avoid it if possible. All in all, the total additional fees were £130 on top of a shipment worth £2k, which is not ideal.

 

[Mister B]

FWIW we never use the forwarders deferrment account.

As Mike says, fust get the reference details of the import and pay it directly. Very simple process and it can save you bucketloads.

 

[kevin.doran]

Won't help this time round of course but it's definitely worth getting a deferment account. We've got ours now and it was a fairly painless process.

 

[Import Expert]

£50 is pretty scandalous to be honest in terms of deferment fees for that kind of VAT outlay. (We charge £25). Are you VAT registered? Is so you can use postponed VAT accounting and avoid this fee.

 

[japancool]

£50 is pretty scandalous to be honest in terms of deferment fees for that kind of VAT outlay. (We charge £25). Are you VAT registered? Is so you can use postponed VAT accounting and avoid this fee.

Unfortunately not at the moment. But probably quite soon, by the looks of things, then I don't need to worry about this.