Overseas Purchases

• The invoice from the EU supplier should not have VAT on it, provided we have quoted UCL's VAT registration number (GB 524 3711 68) on the purchase order.
• VAT at the UK rate 20% will be accounted for when the invoice is processed by Accounts Payable. This means an extra 20% is added to the cost unless the VAT is recoverable (rare).

Exceptions to this are:

• Land-related supplies (e.g. hotel bills)
• Short-term hire of means of transport (e.g. car hire)
• Admission to events (e.g. conference fees).

These will be taxed according to the rules in the country where the supply is made.

• The invoice from the foreign supplier will not have VAT on it.
• Goods will have VAT at the UK rate charged to them at the UK port of entry. Normally, this is paid by the carrier (e.g. DHL) who will then pass the charge on to the University.
• Import VAT is not payable on Equipment Purchased for Use in Medical Research, Training, Diagnosis or Treatment. Please see Equipment for Use in Medical Research section of the VAT Guide for more detail as to eligibility for relief.

• The invoice from the foreign supplier will not have VAT on it.
• VAT at the UK rate will be accounted for when the invoice is processed by Accounts Payable. Unless the VAT is recoverable (rare) this means an extra 20% is added to the cost.

This must be made in advance of import by contacting NIRU the National Import Relief Unit of Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland on Telephone: 028 6634 4557, email: niru@HMRC.gsi.gov.uk

Duty relief schemes allow UCL to pay less or no duty on imports and exports from and to non-EU countries. Where the EU has a Free Trade Agreement in place with another country UCL may be able to claim relief through a 'trade preference' to pay less or no duty. There are rules around eligibility for trade preferences.

The rate of duty and the relief depends on the:

1. Type of goods
2. Country the goods are being exported to
3. Country the goods originate in as set by the 'rules of origin'             

To claim a trade preference you need to:

• get the correct commodity code for your goods
• make sure your goods comply with the rules of origin
• be able to provide proof of where your goods came from
• make sure you comply with transport rules

If you're importing from to a country where there is no Free Trade Agreement in place with the EU, you might be able to apply for one of these relief schemes.  

• Temporary admission if you import goods for a specific use for a limited time, e.g. for an exhibition
• Inward Processing for goods imported from outside the EU, processed in the EU and then exported to another non-EU country
• Outward Processing (including textiles) for goods that are temporarily exported to a non-EU country, e.g. for repair or processing
• Customs warehousing when you wish to store goods duty and VAT free
• The community system of duty relief for goods that promote culture and science 
• Duty suspensions and tariff quotas for raw materials, parts or half-finished products 
• Returned goods relief for goods you reimport 
• End-use relief for certain goods like fish or cheese 
• Processing under customs control for raw materials

Import documents are usually collected through the electronic submission to HMRC of the Single Administrative Document (SAD) Form C88. The form contains 54 boxes - not all of them need to be completed, the details of which should be completed and why are given in the Integrated Tariff of the United Kingdom, usually referred to as The Tariff Volume 3,  part 3, paragraph 3.1.1.The C88 can be submitted by UCL or an agent may be used.

The import declaration gives information needed for a complete picture of what the goods are and what is happening to the shipment. Two of the most important pieces of information required are the Commodity Code (also called Tariff Heading, Tariff Code, Classification Code or Harmonised Code) and the Customs Procedure Code (CPC). Both have significant impact on duty due.

HM Revenue & Customs helpline can be reached on 0300 200 3700.