HMRC is urging affected traders to quickly apply for repayment after an issue with the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) resulted VAT and excise charges being duplicated.
The Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC) issued a series of letters at the end of 2022 bringing industry attention to the problem.
“We are aware of issues with CDS declarations where VAT charges have been duplicated,” said one letter, with a later notice advising that this issue extended to excise duty.
CDS has since been fixed and declarations can be submitted as normal, according to the JCCC, with the issue purportedly only occurring on 30 December.
January deadline
As a result, the government is urging businesses with Duty Deferment Accounts for VAT or excise, that have experienced duplicate charges as a result of the error, to submit C285 forms before Thursday (5 January) in order to avoid being overcharged.
Alternative payment methods
The JCCC also advised that those “at risk of breaching your DDA limit, you may want to consider an alternative payment method.”
“We will review alternative methods of payment and processes, such as postponed VAT accounting, week commencing 3 January 2023,” the letter said.
