Many overseas businesses come to us not at the very start, but a year or two in, when someone asks, “are we sure we got the UK side right?” Usually the answer is that it can be put right, and often there is money to recover. The worst thing you can do is nothing, because the exposure only grows.
In short: if you have been trading into the UK and something is not right: you never registered for UK VAT, you zero-rated sales that should have carried UK VAT, you never recovered your import VAT, or the customs value or classification was wrong, it can be fixed. Late VAT registration, VAT-return error corrections and post-clearance amendments of customs entries all have set routes, and some of these errors mean money back to you. Time limits apply (generally four years), so it pays to act.
If you should have been UK VAT registered and were not, you can register with effect from the correct earlier date and put the position right. There will be VAT to account for on past sales, but dealing with it proactively (rather than waiting for HMRC to find it), puts you in a far better position and helps manage any penalties. See how registration works on UK VAT registration for overseas sellers.
Errors on past VAT returns can be corrected. Broadly:
The usual time limit for correcting VAT errors is four years. We work out which route applies, quantify the error, and handle the correction and any disclosure.
This is a common and painful one: import VAT paid at the border, year after year, and never reclaimed. If you were entitled to recover it, we can look back and recover what is still in time, using your C79 certificates or postponed import VAT statements. See import VAT and postponed VAT accounting.
If duty was overpaid (the wrong commodity code, or a preference you were entitled to and did not claim), there is a route to reclaim it from HMRC. If duty was underpaid, it is better to correct it on your terms than to wait. Both are handled by amending the import declaration on the Customs Declaration Service, generally within a three-year limit. These post-clearance corrections join up with the VAT side so the whole picture is put right.
Author: Amanda Bowles (VAT).
Reading time: about 4 minutes.
Sources (verified 12 Aug 2026): VAT error correction and thresholds: How to correct VAT errors (VAT Notice 700/45) and Check how to tell HMRC about VAT Return errors; late registration: Register for VAT; customs post-clearance corrections (over- and under-payments; three-year limit): Amend or cancel a Customs Declaration Service import declaration (verified by Michelle Lawrence).
It usually means UK VAT has been underdeclared (see DDP explained), but it is fixable, and better addressed now than later.
Often, yes: unrecovered import VAT and overpaid duty are the common ones. It depends on your history and what is still in time.
Coming forward voluntarily generally means lower penalties than being found. We help manage the disclosure to keep exposure down.
If you have been trading into the UK and want a clear-eyed check of whether it was done right, contact our team. A short review usually tells you quickly where you stand.
Senior Manager
VAT
Associate Director
VAT
