Import VAT

Hi, my company has received an invoice from UPS who has invoiced our GB VAT number for a delivery to Switzerland and Belgium. On their invoice is a description of VAT imposed on the shipment to each country, which UPS has paid for us. My question is, can we reclaim this import VAT on our UK VAT returns as they have invoiced our GB VAT number, or should this be reclaimed through the Swiss and Belgium VAT returns? Thanks

Hi, 
As the import VAT has been incurred overseas then you would be unable to recover the VAT on your UK VAT return.
If you are the importer of the goods into third countries then you would need to recover the VAT from the respective countries.
Here is the guidance for recovering VAT from the EU:
Refunds of UK VAT for non-UK businesses (VAT Notice 723A)
Thank you

Just to add to what HMRC Admin13 has posted. If you are incurring import VAT in Switzerland, Belgium or elsewhere in the EU, this will be because you have not set the Incoterms with the freight agent, so if you are shipping again in the future, you need to be clear who will be the importer - you (and you will get charged the Swiss/Belgian VAT which you can't reclaim on a UK VAT return but might be able to make a 13th Directive refund claim) or else the customer is the importer and this is often preferable as the customer is more likely to be VAT registered in their own Country and so incurring import VAT for them would be recoverable for them on their own VAT return. Also, just to quickly remind how VAT works between two UK businesses...Seller charges VAT to buyer, customer pays seller, seller pays the VAT element over to HMRC. Customer then reclaims this VAT from HMRC and so seller, HMRC and customer are all neutral when it comes to VAT, everybody at some point had the VAT in their hand before giving it to someone else, the VAT washes through with Nil effect. When you do this where the customer is overseas and foreign VAT has been incurred, here your sale is zero rated so HMRC collect no VAT from you, you incur Swiss VAT that was paid to the Swiss taxman. HMRC have no way to get that VAT from the Swiss, the Swiss keep it. If you try and reclaim it on a UK VAT return then HMRC is out of pocket (tax loss to HMRC/UK Treasury) because you paid them Nil VAT and reclaimed back £x Swiss VAT, hence your claim is with the Swiss to get the VAT back from the Swiss, nothing to do with HMRC.

Thanks both Jay, May I know if we will have incoterms for shipping to individual consumers (not a business)? And if our incoterms is DDP, does that mean the Import VAT we pay will not be reclaimable even if we are VAT registered in Swiss and Belgium? We tried to reclaim the Import VAT from Belgium but our tax authorities rejected the invoice since UPS has invoiced our GB VAT number. Should we ask UPS to invoice our Swiss and Belgian VAT number then if we want to reclaim the Import VAT? Thanks so much for your help 

Name removed admin .

Hi.
It is impossible for us to comment upon the VAT reclaim procedures in countries outside of the UK as we are not privvy to their rules and regulations about this.
You would need to contact the third countirs where you are seeking to reclaim the VAT incurred.