When should a notification be made?
You' are legally required to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within 14 days of the vehicle's arrival in
the UK irrespective of whether the vehicle is for on road or off road use.
If you're making a notification because you've changed your intention about the use of the vehicle after it arrived
in the UK the date you changed your intention becomes the date of arrival.
A change of intention is when:
- you bring a vehicle into the UK temporarily (no more than 6 months in a 12 month period) but then decide to keep
it here for longer
- as a VAT registered business you intended to use the Secure Registration Scheme (SRS) or Automated First
Registration and Licensing (AFRL) system to register a vehicle but changed your mind after the vehicle arrived
in the UK or
- you're told by a dealer or customer of a change of intention which means the vehicle can't be registered through
SRS/AFRL
For vehicle imports the date of arrival is the date the import entry was accepted and cleared by Customs. This is
the date of acceptance of the import entry as indicated on the 'E2 Acceptance Advice' certificate.
Failure to notify within 14 days of the arrival of a land vehicle into the UK may result in a late notification
penalty being applied - regardless of whether any VAT is due on the vehicle. If a penalty is applied and you have
notified HMRC using the NOVA online service, a message will be sent to your customer communications area confirming
the amount due and how it has been calculated once the notification has been processed. You can access customer
communications from the 'Your HMRC services' page.
