Ms Celine O'Neill:

I thank the Senator for the question. Postponed accounting for VAT was introduced in last year's budget. Consequently, any VAT-registered company that wishes to avail of postponed accounting is able to do so. What tripped some companies up at the beginning of the year is that they must indicate on the customs declaration that they want to avail of postponed accounting. Unless that box is ticked, the system will automatically deduct the VAT at the time that the importation is happening. If a company has opted for postponed accounting, it accounts for the VAT in its normal bimonthly return. That is probably the simplest way of thinking about it. If a company does not qualify to avail of postponed accounting of VAT, it can look into availing of a deferred payment account. That is where a company sets up an account with Revenue, covers the potential duties and VAT with a guarantee and then pays monthly for all of its imports during the relevant month.