The VAT deferral scheme for imports.

Discover how you can delay paying the VAT you owe when making imports.

What is the general system?

In the case of imports of goods, VAT is settled in the manner provided for by customs legislation for tariff duties (art 167.2 LIVA).

Thus, this tax is calculated on the CIF value of the imported goods plus customs duties and is paid to Customs at the time of admission of the DUA (Single Administrative Document) together with the corresponding tariffs (art. 73.1 and 2 RIVA).

Form 031 serves as proof of the settlement carried out, as well as the payment of said amounts.

This procedure involves a financial cost, in certain cases very significant, due to the time that may elapse between the dispatch of imported goods and the submission of VAT declarations or, even more so, the request for a refund of the uncompensated tax.

How can the payment of the VAT generated be deferred?

The VAT generated by the import will be settled by Customs, but there is a possibility of deferring its payment, eliminating the aforementioned financial cost.

This possibility is regulated in Article 74 of the VAT Regulations, which allows those business owners or professionals acting as such and making monthly VAT returns to include the amount settled by Customs in the declaration-settlement corresponding to the period in which they receive the document showing said settlement.

In this way, the monthly VAT quotas accrued generated by the import will be included in the 303 monthly form and, if the full right to deduct the input VAT is enjoyed, its deduction will be made at the same time, without having to advance the payment of VAT at customs.

What are the requirements?

As mentioned in the previous section, the importer must:

1. Being an entrepreneur or professional, acting as such.
2. Having a settlement period that coincides with the calendar month. That is:

• When its volume of operations has exceeded €6,010,121.04 during the immediately preceding calendar year,
• or those to whom Article 71.3.2 of the VAT Regulations applies,
• or are registered in the REDEME,
• or, lastly, that they apply the special regime for the group of entities

It should be noted that having this monthly settlement period implies the need for the taxpayer to adopt the Immediate Supply of Information (SII).

Application and resignation. Deadline and form

This option must be exercised by submitting a census declaration during the month of November prior to the start of the calendar year in which it is to take effect. It will be automatically extended for subsequent years unless it is waived or excluded.

The waiver must be submitted in the same manner, through a census declaration, also during the month of November prior to the start of the calendar year in which it is to take effect. The waiver will be effective for a minimum period of three years.

Please note that importers who cease filing monthly declarations will be excluded from this regime. This exclusion will take effect from the date on which the obligation to file monthly declarations ceases.

Precautions

It is very important to declare the amount paid by Customs. Failure to declare this amount, or an error in the amount, will result in a proportional fine of 10%. Furthermore, the enforcement period for collecting VAT paid but not included in the corresponding declaration begins automatically from the day after the deadline for filing said declaration.

VAT regulations are highly complex and encompass a wide variety of situations. Therefore, we encourage you to contact us and discuss your specific circumstances.

At Àmbit Assessor, we are experts in national and international taxation. We would be delighted to assist you.

• About
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Marc Ivars Iglesias

Sotsgeneral director at Àmbit Assessor

A graduate in Law and with a Master's degree in Tax and Financial Management from the University of Barcelona, ​​he also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in New Technologies Law from ESADE. He specializes in tax and corporate law.
Before joining Àmbit Assessor as manager in 1999, he worked as head of the Tax and Accounting department at the Busquets Terradellas law firm.
For years, he combined his work with teaching, serving as a professor of Public Finance and Tax Law at the Open University of Catalonia.

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