When importing goods into the UK or removing them from a customs / excise warehouse or from a free zone they may attract costs known as duties & taxes. If your goods attract these costs they must be paid immediately upon import clearance or removal to HMRC. 

Failure to pay these costs will result in your shipment / cargo being held or prevented from being moved by UK Customs and subsequently delaying your goods from reaching their intended destination.  

Duties and taxes can be costly and put a strain on your business cashflow. To help ease the burden of paying these costs upfront, at the time of import / removal, you can apply for a Deferment Account with HMRC.  

A Deferment account allows you to to delay the payment of duties & taxes until a later prescribed payment day, an average of 30 days credit. Holding an account can also help speed up the customs clearance of your goods because HMRC will not have to handle payment for the transaction.

If you do not hold a deferment account we recommend you to apply for one. You can do this by completing the following application forms which are available from the HMRC website and following their instructions accordingly.

However, in the meantime, Zencargo offers the possibility of you using Zencargo’s deferment account, subject to conditions. Learn more about using Zencargo's Deferment Account. 

Please note that this article is to be used as a guide only.