Accounting for Exporters and Importers

Postponed VAT Accounting and Import VAT Management

Every UK importer who is not using Postponed VAT Accounting pays import VAT at the border and then waits weeks to reclaim it. That cash gap costs your business real working capital every single month. PVA eliminates that gap. We set it up correctly from day one, so you start benefiting immediately.

• Postponed VAT Accounting Setup: We register your business for PVA and configure your customs agent to use it on every import entry. We reconcile your monthly PVA statements against your VAT returns. You stop paying VAT at the border straight away and recover the full working capital benefit.
• Import VAT Return Reconciliation: We match every line on your HMRC Customs Declaration Service statements to your VAT returns. We catch underclaimed or overclaimed amounts before HMRC finds them. Businesses switching to us from general accountants often discover months of unreconciled PVA statements that nobody had ever checked.
• Import VAT Reclaim Audit: If your business has been importing without PVA, we review your last four years of import records and reclaim every pound of import VAT you were entitled to. Most importers we audit recover between three and twelve months of additional VAT refunds they had simply missed.
• VAT Registration for Import Businesses: We manage your VAT registration and advise on the correct accounting basis for your trading model, whether you import above the VAT threshold or want to reclaim import VAT before reaching it.

Commodity Code Classification and Customs Duty Audit

Your commodity code determines how much customs duty you pay on every single import. It also affects whether you qualify for duty relief schemes, trade agreement preferential rates, and anti-dumping duties. Freight forwarders often select the closest matching code rather than the most accurate one. That small difference can cost thousands of pounds per shipment, and most businesses never realise it is happening.

• Commodity Code Audit: We conduct a detailed review of your import declarations and product classifications. We identify codes that carry excess duty, fail to reflect the true nature of your goods, or miss eligibility for preferential tariff rates under UK trade agreements. Most businesses we audit find at least two or three products sitting on incorrect codes.
• C18 Post-Clearance Demand Defence: If HMRC has issued you a C18 demand for unpaid customs duty, do not pay it until we have reviewed the underlying classification. If your freight forwarder misapplied the tariff, we prepare a formal appeal to HMRC supported by technical commodity code evidence. We have successfully reduced and waived C18 demands for Birmingham importers in exactly this position.
• Customs Duty Relief Applications: We assess your eligibility for Inward Processing Relief, Customs Warehouse authorisation, and End-Use Relief. These schemes allow qualifying businesses to suspend or eliminate customs duty on goods processed in the UK before re-export. A single approved IPR authorisation can save a manufacturing importer tens of thousands of pounds every year.
• Tariff Preference Claims: Since Brexit, UK businesses can access preferential duty rates under the UK Global Tariff and various bilateral UK trade agreements. We check whether your imports qualify for preference and make sure your customs agents claim it correctly on every applicable entry.

Corporation Tax and Self Assessment for Trading Businesses

The tax deadline matters. But what you pay before that deadline matters far more. Import export businesses carry a range of deductible costs that generalist accountants consistently miss. Transfer pricing rules also create serious corporate tax risks that most small business accountants have simply never encountered before.

• Corporation Tax Return (CT600): We prepare your annual corporation tax return and claim every deductible expense your trading business is entitled to. Import duty on goods sold during the year, freight and insurance costs, customs agent fees, foreign exchange losses, trade credit insurance premiums, and all professional fees related to international trade are all deductible. We claim every one of them.
• Transfer Pricing Compliance: If your business trades with connected parties overseas, HMRC requires all transactions to be conducted at arm’s length market prices. We assess your inter-company trading arrangements, document your transfer pricing policy, and make sure your corporation tax return reflects a position that withstands HMRC scrutiny.
• Salary and Dividend Planning: We calculate the most tax-efficient combination of salary and dividends for limited company import export business owners every year. This planning typically saves between two thousand and six thousand pounds annually compared to drawing a full salary.
• Self Assessment for Sole Traders and Partnerships: We prepare and file your self-assessment return accurately and on time. Every allowable trading expense is claimed and payments on account are planned so you always know what tax is due and when.

Export and Import Bookkeeping and Multi-Currency Accounting

If your monthly profit figure comes from a bank statement rather than properly reconciled multi-currency accounts, you are working with inaccurate financial information. Exchange rate movements, timing differences between invoicing and payment, and unreconciled customs statements all distort your true financial position in ways that quietly compound over time.

• Multi-Currency Bookkeeping: We set up your Xero or QuickBooks system to handle every currency your business uses. Foreign currency invoices, supplier payments, and customer receipts are recorded at the correct exchange rate. Realised and unrealised exchange gains and losses are reported accurately in your accounts.
• Customs Duty and Import Costs Allocation: We allocate import duty, freight, insurance, and customs clearance costs to the correct products and cost of goods sold calculations. You get accurate gross margin reporting by product line, so you know exactly which imported products are genuinely profitable after all landing costs are included.
• Supplier Payment Reconciliation: International supplier payments often travel through multiple bank accounts, currency conversion services, and payment intermediaries. We reconcile every international payment to its corresponding purchase invoice and customs entry so your accounts are always clean and fully supported.
• Cash Flow Forecasting for Trading Businesses: We build rolling cash flow forecasts around your specific trading pattern and duty payment calendar. You always know what is coming in, what is going out, and when to act.

Post-Brexit EU VAT Compliance and International Trade Registration

Selling goods or services into EU countries after Brexit requires a completely different compliance approach. The rules changed fundamentally from January 2021, and businesses that carried on using pre-Brexit procedures accumulated significant EU VAT liabilities without realising it. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone, and it is not too late to put things right.

• EU One Stop Shop Registration and Returns: If your business sells goods or digital services to EU consumers and your total EU sales exceed ten thousand euros per year, you need to register for the EU One Stop Shop scheme. OSS lets you file a single quarterly return covering all your EU consumer sales rather than registering for VAT individually in each member state. We handle your registration and file every quarterly return accurately.
• EORI Number Registration and Management: Every business moving goods across UK borders needs an EORI number. We register your business for the correct EORI number, make sure it links correctly to your VAT registration, and verify that your customs agents use it on every entry. A missing or incorrect EORI link causes clearance delays and creates mismatches in your HMRC records.
• Incoterms Tax Advice: The Incoterms shipping term you agree with your buyer or supplier determines who carries responsibility for import duty, import VAT, and customs clearance costs. DDP, DAP, EXW, and other terms carry very different tax obligations. We advise you on the implications of each Incoterm before you sign your trading contracts so hidden import costs never arrive as a surprise after goods have already moved.
• Duty Deferment Account Setup: High-volume importers can apply for a duty deferment account that consolidates customs duty and import VAT into a single monthly payment rather than paying at each entry. We assess your eligibility, manage the application, and make sure your deferment account is set up correctly so you get the full cash flow benefit on every shipment.

We have in-depth experience with the following compliance and consulting services specific to the Exporter & Importer sector: