Irish import VAT is 23%. On a €100,000 shipment, that's €23,000 of cash leaving your business at the border, often weeks before you've recovered the goods or sold them. Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) removes this problem entirely.
What PVA actually does
When PVA is active, you don't pay import VAT in cash at customs clearance. Instead, you:
- Declare the import VAT amount in your VAT3 return as output VAT (boxes T1 and PA1).
- Reclaim the same amount as input VAT in the same return (box T2).
Net effect: zero cash movement, the VAT is paid and reclaimed in the same return. Your cash flow stays intact.
Who qualifies
All VAT-registered businesses with a valid Irish or non-established VAT number qualify automatically. You don't need to apply — it's available by default in AIS for any importer who has Irish VAT registration. However, you must:
- Hold an active Irish VAT number.
- Be the importer of record on the AIS declaration.
- Have your customs agent enter the PVA code on the declaration.
How to activate it on a declaration
On the AIS H1 declaration, your customs agent enters method of payment "G" in the additional fiscal references box. This signals to Revenue that the import VAT goes onto the VAT3 instead of being collected at clearance.
If method G is missing, customs will demand cash payment of the 23% — even though you qualify for PVA. This is the most common mistake we see.
Monthly C&E statement
Revenue publishes a monthly Customs & Excise statement in your ROS account, listing every PVA-eligible import and the import VAT amount. Use this to verify your VAT3 numbers each period.
Reconcile this statement carefully — discrepancies between the C&E statement and your VAT3 trigger Revenue queries.
Common mistakes that cost businesses money
- Forgetting to set method G on the declaration. Cash gets demanded at the border.
- Wrong importer EORI — if a freight forwarder uses their own EORI, the PVA goes to them, not you, and you can't recover it.
- Not reconciling the monthly C&E statement. Errors compound and the year-end review becomes a nightmare.
- Using PVA on goods you can't legally reclaim VAT on — some entertainment, hospitality, or passenger vehicle imports have VAT recovery restrictions. PVA doesn't fix that.
Should non-established traders use PVA?
If you import into Ireland but aren't established there, PVA still works — but only if you're VAT-registered in Ireland (usually via a fiscal representative). For one-off imports, PVA may not be worth the registration burden. For recurring flows, the cash-flow benefit usually justifies it within 1–2 shipments.
If you'd like us to review your import flow and check whether PVA is being used correctly, get in touch — most reviews surface money currently being unnecessarily blocked at the border.