Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated) on Monday, 8 July 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 July 2019. It was answered by Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative) on Monday, 22 July 2019 on behalf of the Treasury.

Parcels: VAT

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure more foreign companies sign up to the new parcel tax scheme in preparation for a possible no-deal Brexit.

Answer: HMRC’s Import VAT on Parcels online service was launched in February 2019 to allow businesses to prepare for a potential no deal EU exit, and remains open for registrations. HMRC are working with key partners to communicate the potential changes to overseas businesses. While HMRC expect registrations would increase if a no deal exit were confirmed, registration numbers for the online service are not a reliable indicator of overall readiness because there are other ways to pay import VAT on parcels via third parties.

Secondary information