{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/value-added-tax-northern-ireland-eu-exit-regulations-2020/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/value-added-tax-northern-ireland-eu-exit-regulations-2020/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2020/1546",
  "legislation_title": "The Value Added Tax (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/value-added-tax-northern-ireland-eu-exit-regulations-2020",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations make provision appropriate in consequence of, or otherwise in connection with, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. Specifically, they relate to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom as part of the Withdrawal Agreement (“the Protocol”). They will come into force on a day or days to be appointed by the Treasury in further regulations.\nRegulation 2 makes provision for interpretation of the Regulations.\nRegulation 3 provides that where the circumstances described in paragraph (1) apply, relating to certain supplies of gold removed from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and vice versa, the person who is treated as having imported those goods for the purposes of paragraph 4 of Schedule 9ZB to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (c. 23; “VATA”) is the customer.\nRegulations 4 provides that where the circumstances described in paragraph (1) apply, relating to certain supplies of gold involving the London Bullion Market Association removed as described above, the person who is treated as having imported those goods is the person who would have been required to account for VAT on the supply.\nRegulations 5 provides that where the circumstances described in paragraph (1) apply, relating to certain supplies of goods which are of a description contained in an order made under section 55A of VATA applies (which imposes a reverse charge on certain supplies of goods for the purposes of fraud prevention) are removed from Great Britain to Northern Ireland or vice versa, the person who is treated as having imported those goods is the customer.\nRegulation 6 provides that where goods are removed from Great Britain to Northern Ireland (or vice versa) and the goods are declared for a special customs procedure, the person who is treated as having imported the goods is the person who places them into free circulation. Regulation 6 also confers on the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the power to specify the evidence that a taxable person who would otherwise be treated as having imported the goods must hold of the goods being declared for a special customs procedure. Any public notice made under this power will be made available at (or in a notice on the website, as described in that link). Free of charge hard copies will be available on request from the HMRC helpline on 0300 200 3700 (+44 2920 501 261 for outside the UK enquiries) or by writing to HM Revenue and Customs – VAT Written Enquiries Team, 123 St Vincent Street, Glasgow City, Glasgow, G2 5EA, United Kingdom.\nRegulation 7 provides that where a taxable person removes the person's own goods, or those of a third party, the remover is treated as having imported the goods.\nRegulations 8 to 11 provide that where a supply of goods is zero-rated as the goods are after that supply to be removed from Northern Ireland by way of export, the person supplying the goods is treated as having imported them into Great Britain.\nRegulation 12 provides that where goods are removed from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in a non-commercial consignment, the sender of those goods is treated as having imported them.\nRegulations 13 provides that where goods are removed from Great Britain to Northern Ireland otherwise than in the course of a business carried on by a VAT registered person, the person removing the goods is the person who is treating as having imported them.\nRegulation 14 provides that Part 2 of these Regulations applies to goods removed from the Isle of Man to Northern Ireland as it applies to goods removed from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.\nRegulations 15 and 16 provide that a taxable person who is treated as having imported goods for the purposes of paragraph 4 of Schedule 9ZB or paragraph 4A(2) of Schedule 9ZC (relating to removals facilitated by an online marketplace) must account for the resulting VAT on that person's VAT return. Regulation 17 imposes an obligation on the former class of person to provide an import document to that person's customer. Regulation 17 also requires a taxable person to provide an import document to another taxable person where removing that person's goods otherwise than pursuant to a supply. Regulation 18 applies a penalty for non-compliance with the obligation in regulation 17.\nRegulation 19 makes provision for VAT accounting by non-taxable persons. It allows a credit to be offset against the charge to VAT incurred on goods which are removed from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The credit applies where the removal is not made in connection with a VAT registered business. The credit is the total of the VAT incurred on the goods when purchased in, or imported into, Great Britain to the extent the credit does not exceed the VAT due on the removal. Where the VAT due does exceed the credit, HMRC may specify in a public notice how and when that VAT should be paid. Any public notice made under this power will be made available as set out above in relation to regulation 6.\nRegulation 20 confers an entitlement on certain taxable persons to deduct the VAT shown on the import document referred to above as if it were that person's input tax. Regulation 21 provides that, in those circumstances, the person liable for the VAT on the entry of the goods into Northern Ireland (or Great Britain as the case may be) is not permitted to deduct that VAT as input tax.\nRegulations 22 to 30 make provision for the identification of relevant Northern Ireland traders for VAT purposes. The identification concerns the additional use of the prefix “XI” alongside a person's VAT registration number. These regulations make provision for a person to request, and to be obliged to request, to be identified for VAT purposes in Northern Ireland, for how the fact of that identification is to be communicated and the circumstances in which a person cases to be identified. Regulation 24 permits certain details to be set out in a public notice made by HMRC and any such public notice will be made available as set out above in relation to regulation 6. Regulation 31 relates to the interpretation of section 9A of VATA (cross-border reverse charge on supplies of gas and electricity to registered persons) and provides that a person who is not identified for VAT purposes in Northern Ireland is to be treated as if that person were so identified in certain circumstances. Regulation 32 provides that the Part is to be treated as if made under paragraph 7 of Schedule 9ZA to VATA.\nRegulations 33 and 34 make provision requiring a person who is treated as having imported goods for the purposes of paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 9ZC to VATA to account for the import VAT on the person's VAT return as if it were VAT on a supply.\nThe withdrawal agreement, which includes the Protocol, is available at .\nA Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument will be published on the website at .",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1546/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T22:20:10.371888+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}