Regime 42 is release for free circulation in one EU member state combined with an immediate intra-Community supply to another. Duty is paid as normal, but import VAT is not collected at the border: the customer accounts for it in the country of destination. It is a cash-flow tool, not a way of avoiding tax.
How the mechanism works
In a standard import the importer pays duty and VAT in the country where the goods are cleared, then recovers the VAT through a return. Under regime 42 the VAT never arises at the border, because release for free circulation is immediately followed by an exempt intra-Community supply. The customer in the destination country reports the acquisition and accounts for the tax there. The effect is simple: cash is not tied up while returns cycle through, and on large consignments that can decide whether the operation is worth running.
When it makes sense on the UK lane
Since Brexit the United Kingdom is a third country, so goods coming back from the islands into the EU go through a normal import. If the final customer is not a Polish business but a company in Czechia, Slovakia, Austria or Hungary, regime 42 allows the consignment to be cleared on entry into the EU and moved onward without paying VAT at the border. That is exactly the pattern we run on consolidation via Poland and describe in import from the UK to Czechia, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.
Conditions you cannot work around
- The importer must be registered for intra-Community transactions, and the customer must hold an active identification number in their own country.
- The declaration states the customer number and the destination country, not a general statement of intent.
- Actual removal of the goods from the country of import has to be documented: CMR, proof of delivery, commercial correspondence.
- The transaction is reported in the recapitulative statement.
- Missing evidence means the authorities demand the VAT from the importer, so the file has to be built from day one.
What the carrier contributes
The carrier is not a party to the tax settlement but supplies the evidence that settlement rests on. So on regime 42 consignments we make sure the CMR is completed properly and signed by the consignee, that the transport documents match the customs declaration, and that proof of delivery goes into the job file. How to complete the note is covered in the CMR consignment note.
Regime 42 against the alternatives
It is not the only way to defer payment. On the UK side there is accounting for import VAT on the return, covered in postponed VAT accounting, and duty deferment is discussed in the duty deferment account. Where goods are to move on without being released into free circulation, external transit is often the better fit, as described in the T1 procedure. The choice depends on who owns the goods and where the movement actually ends.
Post-clearance verification: what the file has to prove
Regime 42 is attractive, so it is also abused, and tax administrations watch it closely. A check usually arrives many months later and comes down to a single question: did the goods actually leave the country of import and reach the stated customer. The answer is a complete set of transport documents, not a statement of intent. So from the first consignment it is worth keeping in one place: the customs declaration, the consignment note signed by the consignee, proof of delivery, commercial correspondence and evidence that the customer identification number was active on the date of the transaction. Gaps in that set mean the tax is assessed on the importer, and recovering it from a trading partner is often illusory. The procedure also does not remove reporting duties: the transaction has to appear in the recapitulative statement, and a discrepancy between the customs entry and the tax return is one of the simplest triggers for an audit.
Sources
- EUR-Lex: Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax
- EUR-Lex: Union Customs Code (Regulation 952/2013)
- PUESC: Polish electronic customs and tax services platform
This is general information, not tax advice: confirm the treatment with your own adviser. If you are planning an import from the UK with delivery into another EU country, describe the route in our quote form and we will arrange transport together with clearance. The scope of formalities is on our customs clearance page.
