VEXP110060 | Assurance procedures: Ex-works transactions involving consolidation

Businesses may experience difficulty in obtaining information about the physical removal of the goods from Northern Ireland in certain NI-EU transactions. The situation occurs when the movement of the goods is arranged by the EU customer and the goods are consolidated with goods from other suppliers before they are removed from Northern Ireland. This means that there is a break in the audit trail from the vehicle picking up the goods to the shipping of the goods from to the EU. It is pointless in these instances trying to trace the vehicle registration number of the vehicle picking up the goods at the business’s premises because a different vehicle will be crossing the border. This situation appears to occur mainly in the motor factor trade.

One solution is for the UK supplier to provide their EU customer’s freight agents with a monthly schedule of the “pick up” of goods and for the agent to complete the shipping details of the transactions. The schedule must provide a link to the supplier’s commercial records. This has provided satisfactory proof of removal in a number of instances. But before agreeing this with a business you should discuss with the VAT Export and Removal of Goods Unit of Expertise (UoE) - see VEXP10600 for contact details.