Import VAT, how to defer payment

Taxable persons who have opted to defer the deposit of Import VAT quotas must exercise this option by filing a tax registry declaration with the Tax Agency during the November prior to the start of the calendar year in which it is to take effect.  It shall be deemed extended for the following years until the waiver of the waiver or exclusion occurs (Article 73 of the VAT Regulation).

Once the option has been made, this regime is mandatory for all import transactions carried out in the calendar year, and is understood to be extended for the following years until the waiver or exclusion occurs.

Yes, this System can be waived. The waiver will be exercised by notifying the competent body of the Tax Agency, by filing the corresponding census declaration and must be filed in November prior to the start of the calendar year in which it must take effect. The waiver will have effect for a minimum period of three years.

No. The dispatch system itself will be the one that, at the time of the acceptance of the Tax Code, will check whether the importer has exercised the option for the deferral of payment.

Operators with the right to apply the deferred payment system must enter the amounts settled by the Administration in the tax return-settlement of VAT (form 303/322) for the period in which the settlement is notified to you, in the case of the import clearance this notification is produced on the date of release (Article 74.1.a) of the VAT Regulation).

By way of example: The SADs dispatched in February, as well as the settlements notified in the same month, must be included in form 303/322, which must be filed between 1 and 20 March.

For this purpose, a box (box 77) has been included in the aforementioned forms.

If an operator does not include all import VAT payments notified for one month in the settlement declaration corresponding to that month, the amounts not included will be passed directly to the enforcement period of collection, by entry criterion FIFO (article 76 and 77 of the VAT Regulation).

In addition, it should be taken into account that the non-consignment or incorrect or incomplete consignment into the self-assessment of the tax payments corresponding to import operations settled by the Administration may constitute a tax infringement and therefore be subject to penalty.

Yes, the Administration, in its duty to assist taxpayers in voluntary compliance with tax obligations, has created a new procedure in the E-Office that is both within the import procedure and within the VAT declaration procedure. This procedure, known as "Consultation of deferred payment import VAT" allows consultation of the deferred VAT quotas corresponding to each period, as well as the current status of those debts. You can find it in Management on this page and on the following route:

       E-Office-Tax Agency > Home > All procedures > Customs > Filing and dispatch of tax returns > Import

As established by the Customs Code of the Union, the requirement by the Customs Authority to cover customs debt and other charges (i.e. VAT among others) at the time of dispatch of the goods to allow the release of the goods is mandatory.

Reductions of the guarantee to be provided (reductions at 50% or 30%) are permitted if certain financial solvency and administrative management conditions are met.

Furthermore, VAT payments should not be guaranteed if the payment procedure is used prior to release or when the importer find in the payment deferral system, except in the latter case, that risk indicators indicate otherwise or when the financial solvency criteria are not met.

Operators authorised to use the direct debit procedure must pay the VAT amounts for the tax period in which they receive the tax debt notification (therefore, in the release period, unless expressly settled).

Example: Recapitulative SAD Z filed on 3 February for goods registered (and lifted) on 9 January and with a green circuit. In this case, the VAT payments are understood to be notified by the tax office on 9 January and must be paid on form 303 corresponding to January.