HMRC recently recalled that the recovery of VAT on importation can only be made by the owner of the goods at the time of importation, to the exclusion of any other person.
Therefore, it is obligatorily the owner of the goods and his EORI number who must appear as the consignee (box 8) on the import declaration.
This means that the VAT on the goods does not have to be paid by a third party, such as a storage service provider, a processor, or an agent who acts in a transparent manner.
Indeed, VAT paid by these third parties would be irrecoverable and would therefore constitute a definitive charge. The deduction of this VAT on their VAT return could therefore lead to a tax adjustment.
This rule deducted from the general conditions for the deduction of VAT laid down in Directive 2006/112/CE (pdf in French) is not specific to the UK, but is applicable in all EU Member States.
Source : HMRC
