VAT and Duty reliefs

Rules of Origin 

Basically this is the country where the goods were produced or manufactured rather than where they have been shipped or bought from. There are specific rules for certain products and countries .

These rules are negotiated as part of any FTA. They are intended to prevent tariff circumvention, whereby third countries take advantage of differences in agreed tariffs between countries to route their exports via one FTA partner to another. Regardless of whether it is the importer or exporter who pays the tariff/customs duties when importing the goods into the UK, both must have evidence that the goods meet the rules of origin. These rules can be complicated please contact the Tax Team  or for more information please see HMRC https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-your-goods-meet-the-rules-of-origin 

What if you cannot comply with these rules? 
Any goods imported will have to pay the World trade that applies to imports from non-FTA trading partners. 

What if you obtain the evidence of origin later once the goods have been imported? 
For goods imported from the EU we can make a claim for the difference between the amount paid and the preferential rate (I.e. zero%) within 3 years of the date of import. Please contact the Tax Team in these instances.