United Kingdom Tax Tribunal Clarifies Imposition of Additional Import VAT for Advance Payments

The United Kingdom First-Tier Tax Tribunal May 1 issued a judgment in Case No. TC09505, clarifying the imposition of additional import VAT for advance payments. The taxpayer, a company, imported bottled water from a Turkish company. The Tax Agency demanded additional import VAT, claiming that the taxpayer under-declared the value of its imported bottled water. The taxpayer appealed, arguing that even though it made payments to its supplier that exceeded the declared import value of the goods, they were advance payments made to secure a better price and weren’t for imports of specific goods. In allowing the taxpayer’s appeal, the ...