Section 27 — accounting for VAT
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-29)

Find out about declaring VAT on alcoholic products you’re removing from duty suspension that have been supplied to you or imported by you under duty suspension.

27.1 General information

General information on VAT can be found in the VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-700-the-vat-guide).

27.2 Alcoholic products supplied in duty suspension to other approved premises or excise warehouses

Any supply of UK produced alcoholic products within the warehousing regime (that is, supplies of alcoholic product in duty suspension from one approved premises to another, or from approved premises to an excise warehouse) is disregarded for VAT purposes under the VAT Act 1994, sections 18(2) and (3).

27.3 Alcoholic products received in duty suspension from other approved premises or excise warehouses

Your alcoholic products producer approval (APPA) may allow you to receive and hold alcoholic products in duty suspension from other approved premises. Alternatively, you may receive alcoholic products in an excise warehouse — read receive goods into and remove goods from an excise warehouse (Excise Notice 197) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/receive-goods-into-and-remove-goods-from-an-excise-warehouse-excise-notice-197).

If you remove from duty suspension alcoholic products which have been supplied to you from other approved premises or an excise warehouse, you must account for VAT on the purchase and supply of the alcoholic product.

27.4 Imported alcoholic products received in duty suspension

Your alcoholic products producer approval (APPA) may allow you to import alcoholic products in duty suspension directly to your approved premises.

If you remove from the duty suspension regime alcoholic products which have been imported by you under duty suspense, you must account for VAT on both the purchase and supply of the products.

27.5 How to account for VAT

You must also declare VAT due on alcoholic products you’re removing from duty suspension that have been supplied to you or imported by you under duty suspension on the declare VAT due on alcoholic beverages (VAT) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-duties-vat-due-on-alcoholic-beverages-ex-46-vat) form. This form applies to all alcoholic products.

You should account for the VAT at the end of the period in which you remove the goods from your approved premises or excise warehouse.

The value for VAT is the cost of the alcoholic products to you, plus the duty.

27.6 Reclaiming VAT

You should check the send a VAT Return (https://www.gov.uk/submit-vat-return) guidance to find out how to reclaim the purchase VAT as input tax.

To reclaim the purchase VAT you will need a C79 certificate. If you are the owner of the goods you will be issued with a C79 during the month after payment of the VAT on the form declare VAT due on alcoholic beverages (VAT) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-duties-vat-due-on-alcoholic-beverages-ex-46-vat). The C79 is the official evidence you need to claim VAT paid on warehouse or approved premises removals as input tax.

Where postponed VAT accounting has been used to account for the import VAT, you should retain the evidence of the payment of the VAT to make any reclaim. The payment and the reclaim should be on the same VAT return.

If you’re not the owner but the goods were removed to home use from your approved premises, you should recover the VAT paid by you from the owner of the goods by disbursement invoice.

27.7 Processing of duty suspended alcoholic products

VAT rules are not always the same for duty suspended alcoholic products you receive for processing.

Some services or processes applied to existing alcoholic products can change its nature to the extent that a new product is considered to be created. The new product is then treated as having been produced on your approved premises and any VAT that would have been due on the import, acquisition or supply before processing, is extinguished.

You can find further information in Tax warehousing (VAT Notice 702/10) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-tax-warehousing-notice-70210).