How to Report Stock Transfers, Exports and UK Imports

If you move your own goods from Germany to the UK — for example, when transferring stock to an Amazon FBA warehouse in the UK — the transaction has reporting requirements in both Germany and the UK.

This can sometimes be confusing because information relating to the same physical shipment needs to be included in both the Movement of Goods file and the Expenses file.

However, these entries serve different VAT reporting purposes and are not duplicate reporting.

Why Is the Shipment Reported Twice?

A shipment of your own goods from Germany to the UK creates two separate events:

Germany → Export of goods

The goods leave Germany and the export must be taken into account for German VAT reporting.

United Kingdom → Import of goods

The same goods enter the UK and the import must be taken into account for UK VAT reporting.

Therefore, information relating to the shipment may need to be provided in two different hellotax files.

Although both entries relate to the same shipment, they do not create a duplicate UK VAT entry.

1. Report the Export from Germany

When your own goods are transferred from Germany to the UK, the shipment must be reported for German VAT purposes as an export from Germany.

Include the transaction in your Movement of Goods file.

The export is reported without German VAT.

This allows the movement of stock out of Germany to be taken into account in the German VAT reporting.

2. Report the Import into the UK

The UK side of the transaction must also be reported.

Include the relevant import information in your Expenses file so that the import can be taken into account for UK VAT purposes.

This is required even though you have already reported the German export in the Movement of Goods file.

The two entries have different purposes:

Movement file → German export reporting

Expenses file → UK import/PVA reporting

3. What If You Use Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA)?

If your goods are imported into the UK using Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA), import VAT is not normally paid at the border.

Instead, the import VAT is accounted for through the UK VAT return.

It is important that you provide the relevant import information to hellotax. Do not assume that the information will automatically be included in your VAT return simply because a PVA statement is available from HMRC.

For the transaction described above, the import information should be provided through the Expenses file so that it can be processed for UK VAT reporting.

4. IMPORTER and POSTPONED IMPORT VAT

Where your business is the importer and PVA has been used, complete the relevant fields accordingly.

For example:

IMPORTER: YES
POSTPONED IMPORT VAT: YES

Make sure that the information you provide corresponds with the actual customs treatment of the shipment.

Example: Germany → Amazon FBA UK

A German company transfers its own stock from its warehouse in Germany to an Amazon FBA warehouse in the UK.

The company is the importer into the UK and uses Postponed VAT Accounting.

The shipment should be reported as follows:

🇩🇪 Germany

Report the export in the Movement of Goods file.

⬇️

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Report the import/PVA information in the Expenses file.

⬇️

VAT reporting

The Movement entry supports the German VAT reporting, while the Expenses entry supports the UK VAT reporting.

This is not a duplicate entry.

The two records relate to the same physical shipment but are used for VAT reporting in two different countries.

⚠️ Important

Do not omit the UK Expenses entry because you have already included the shipment in the Movement of Goods file.

Similarly, do not assume that hellotax will automatically include your PVA information solely because the information may be available through HMRC.

Providing complete and accurate information helps ensure that both the German export and UK import are treated correctly in your VAT reporting.

Need Help?

If you're unsure how to report a shipment, or you're unsure whether PVA was used for your UK import, please contact your hellotax Account Manager before submitting your data.

Providing the details of the shipment and relevant customs/import documentation will help us determine how the transaction should be reported.