Import VAT certificate C79: the landed-cost check for China RFQs

Your import VAT certificate is evidence, not just paperwork

When you import from China using a duty deferment account, HMRC generates a C79 certificate each month showing the import VAT you have paid. This is available online, typically by the 10th working day of the following month. For example, a March import statement is accessible by the 10th working day of April.

The C79 lists every import entry where VAT was paid through your deferment account, with the amounts broken down by shipment. If you used postponed VAT accounting instead—where you account for import VAT on your VAT Return rather than paying it upfront—the equivalent document is a postponed import VAT statement, which follows a different retrieval process.

What the briefing candidate signals is that this certificate is not simply a tax record. It is documentary evidence for the import VAT paid on a deferred-account import, and it gives the buyer a fixed point to compare against the VAT line in the landed-cost model.

Why the C79 matters more than the percentage in your spreadsheet

When you receive quotes from Chinese suppliers, the landed cost model typically runs on assumptions: declared value, shipping cost, insurance, duty estimate, and import VAT. Those assumptions are upstream. The C79 is downstream—it is the monthly HMRC record showing the import VAT paid on imports through the deferment account.

The gap between assumption and reality is where cost surprises live. A supplier quote may treat import VAT as a neutral accounting line, while the buyer still has to manage when that VAT is paid, recovered, or reported. The C79 shows the import VAT paid through the deferment account, providing the reconciliation point between your model and the executed import.

This matters most in three situations: when you are comparing competing supplier quotes where cash flow and VAT recovery timing affect the decision; when you are auditing whether the import VAT paid aligns with the model used for the purchase decision; and when you need to evidence your import cost base for internal pricing or margin reviews.

Scenario: Two quotes, one VAT line to reconcile

A UK buyer is evaluating two Chinese suppliers for a precision-machined component. Supplier A is cheaper at unit-price level but assumes a lower landed-cost cash requirement. Supplier B is more expensive on the invoice but includes a more conservative import-cost allowance. The decision looks close because the import VAT line affects working-capital timing and the first-order reconciliation.

Both suppliers are reputable. The buyer asks for the assumptions behind the landed-cost view. Supplier A provides a quote spreadsheet. Supplier B provides a prior shipment example. Neither document is the buyer's HMRC record.

The C79 does not answer whether the commercial quote was good or bad by itself. But once the buyer places an order and the first shipment clears through a duty deferment account, the C79 shows the import VAT paid for that month. That becomes the factual anchor for the next purchase order: if the VAT paid does not line up with the accepted quote model, the buyer has a concrete reconciliation issue to investigate before committing further volume.

The C79, retrieved by the 10th working day of the following month, gives the buyer evidence to validate or challenge the VAT line in the landed-cost model before the next commercial commitment.

Evidence line: Using the C79 to stress-test import VAT assumptions

If the import VAT paid does not match the model used during supplier selection, the C79 gives you the amount to reconcile. You can then run a retrospective landed-cost check:

If the C79 figures do not match the landed-cost model you used to evaluate the quote, that gap is the signal—not the direction of the gap. It may indicate that the model used the wrong import VAT cash-flow assumption, or that the purchase file needs a broker explanation before repeat volume. Either way, the C79 is the audit trigger.

Control points before the next commitment

Before placing a repeat order or committing to a supplier based on a quoted landed cost, the following apply:

1. Retrieve the C79 for the first shipment and reconcile the import VAT paid against the VAT line in your original landed-cost model. If they differ, update the model and re-evaluate the quote.

1. If the VAT difference points to an underlying declaration or valuation issue, ask the broker to explain the import entry before the next deposit.

1. If you used postponed VAT accounting, retrieve the postponed import VAT statement in place of the C79 and apply the same reconciliation logic.

1. Retain the C79 as part of the evidence trail for the supplier's cost competitiveness claim. A supplier whose quoted landed cost consistently diverges from the C79-validated VAT position is not giving you a model that matches the import file.

The C79 is not a backward-looking document. It is the buyer's evidence anchor before the next commercial decision.

Sources

Get your import VAT certificate (C79) – GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-your-import-vat-certificates