Postponed VAT accounting on imports from the EU — how does it actually work?

Yes, you've got the principle right. Postponed VAT accounting lets you declare and recover import VAT on the same VAT return, so you never pay it at the border — a big cash-flow win compared with paying upfront and reclaiming later. It applies to goods imported into Great Britain from anywhere outside the UK, so your EU imports are covered. You don't need any special approval — the only requirement is that you're VAT registered in the UK. In practice, here's how it flows. When the goods arrive, whoever completes the import declaration must select postponed VAT accounting and enter your VAT registration number. If a freight forwarder or courier handles your clearance, tell them in writing that you want to use PVA — this is the step people most often forget, and it's how VAT ends up being paid at the border by mistake. HMRC then produces a monthly postponed import VAT statement for you, available through the Customs Declaration Service. You use that statement to complete your return: the VAT due goes in box 1, the amount you reclaim as input tax goes in box 4, and the total value of the imports (excluding VAT) goes in box 7. You declare for the accounting period covering the date you imported the goods. One more tip: keep the statements with your VAT records, and make sure the import entries appear on the correct EORI — if anything's missing, ask your agent to confirm the declaration was allocated to the right one.