Payments
On this page you will find information about payment methods for VAT and Customs or Excise duties, repayments from Customs and Excise, penalties and interest for late Excise duty payments, late VAT returns and late VAT payments.
Further Information or Guidance
If you experience any issues making a payment or have any queries involving payments, please don’t hesitate to contact our Finance Team:
Telephone: +44 1624 648100
Email: CustomsFinance@gov.im
Payment methods
Same or next working day
- ‘Faster Payments’ using online banking
- CHAPS
- Debit Card or Credit Card via the Online Services
3 working days
- BACS Credit Transfer
- Standing Order (for businesses on an agreed time to pay arrangement, using the Annual Accounting Scheme or Payments on Account)
Important Information to Consider Before Making a Payment
- Make sure your payment will reach C&E's bank account by the deadline. You may have to pay a late payment penalty if you do not pay on time
- If the deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, your payment must arrive in C&E's bank account on the last working day before the deadline
Banks and Building Societies can operate different arrangements for setting up payments, e.g. CHAPS, BACS Credit Transfer. As it is your responsibility to ensure your payment is made on time, we suggest you check the following with your own Bank or Building Society:
- Are there any single or daily limits to how much you can transfer from your account?
- Is there a Bank or Building Society cut-off time for processing payments on the same day?
- How long will it take for your Bank or Building Society to send your payment to us?
Checking these details and observing the cut-off times will help to ensure that you do not miss your payment deadline and incur late payment penalties.
VAT payments
If you are VAT registered and would like to submit your VAT return and/or make a VAT payment, please use the Online Portal.
Payments can be made via:
- BACS Credit Transfer
- Debit Card
- Credit Card
Selecting 'BACS Credit Transfer' will provide you with the bank account details to which you should arrange to make payment.
Important: Please remember to use your TIN or VAT number as the payment reference.
Customs general payments
For other payments relating to Customs Duties, Excise Duties and Postal Charges, please arrange for payment by electronic means through the Online Services and select the Customs General Payments option.
The full list of available options can be found using the 'Payment Type' drop down menu on the form.
Important: If you are paying Customs or Excise duties please remember to use your Customs or Excise regime approval number as the payment reference.
Receipt of Payment
For payment by electronic means, i.e. Faster Payments, CHAPS, BACS Credit Transfer, as standard practice we use our statement date as the date of receipt for accounting purposes in respect of incoming funds.
However, there is a point at which the statement date for incoming funds has to change to the next working day and this happens at 5:30pm each day. For instance, if you make a same day payment on the deadline using Faster Payments, but after 5:30pm, the date of receipt will be the next working day after the deadline and you may incur a late payment penalty.
Same day payments on the deadline by Debit Card or Credit Card can be made via Online Services, where, for accounting purposes, the day of payment is the date of receipt.
Repayments from Customs and Excise
Repayments can only be made by:
- Cheque in the name of the registered business
OR - BACS transfer made to a bank account in the name of the registered business.
We will make repayments to client bank accounts of businesses regulated by the IOM Financial Service Authority such as a Trust or Corporate Service Providers if they are acting for the registered business.
Repayments cannot be made to overseas bank accounts.
Penalties and interest
Excise Duties
Information on civil penalties – fixed, geared and daily can be found in Excise Notice 209 published by HMRC.
VAT
From 1 January 2023
The penalties applied for submitting your VAT return late or not paying your VAT liability on time are changing for all VAT periods starting on or after 1 January 2023.
There will also be changes to how late payment interest is charged.
The amendment of the Value Added Tax Act 1996 will take effect from 1 January 2023.
What you need to do to avoid a penalty or interest
As long as you submit your VAT returns and make your VAT payments on time you will not receive a penalty or be charged late payment interest.
What is changing?
Late VAT returns
This applies to all VAT returns, including 'nil' returns and those seeking a refund of VAT from Customs & Excise. You must make sure that you submit all of your VAT returns on time to avoid a late return penalty.
If you submit VAT returns late you may be fined £200.
Late VAT payments
If you do not make your VAT payments on time you may incur a late payment penalty, which is based on a percentage of how much VAT remains outstanding.
You may also be charged late payment interest.
Further Information and Guidance
Further information can be found in the VAT Penalties and Interest Notice
If you are unable to make your VAT payments on time contact the Debt Management Team at Customs and Excise:
+44 1624 648160 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm)