Guides / Duty deferment account · Updated 30 September 2026

Duty deferment account (DDA) in the UK explained

A duty deferment account lets you pay import duty and VAT once a month by Direct Debit instead of per shipment. Here is who can get one, what HMRC asks for, and when using your agent's account makes more sense.

This guide is also available in Polish.

What a duty deferment account is

Every import into Great Britain can create a bill: customs duty, excise duty and, in many cases, import VAT. Without special arrangements, those charges are paid consignment by consignment before goods are released. A duty deferment account (often shortened to DDA) changes the timing. According to HMRC, it lets you delay paying most customs or tax charges and settle them as one monthly payment by Direct Debit, instead of paying each time goods arrive.

HMRC lists the charges that can be deferred through the account:

Customs Duty
excise duties
import VAT
duties on goods released from an excise warehouse

The account is used on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). When you, or the agent filing for you, submit an import declaration, the declaration states how the charges will be paid. Choosing the deferment account means the amount is charged to your account and collected later.

Who needs one

HMRC says anyone can apply for a duty deferment account to pay import duties in Great Britain. Nobody is obliged to have one, but it tends to make sense if you import regularly and want predictable, consolidated payments rather than paying at the border every time. Occasional importers often pay immediately or use an agent's arrangement instead (see below).

To apply you need, among other things:

an EORI number starting with GB and the business name linked to it
your UK address linked to that EORI
your company registration number and VAT number, where you have them
details of directors or officials, including dates of birth
an estimate of how much you expect to defer

HMRC aims to process applications within 30 working days. If approved, you receive a deferment approval number, and the account only becomes usable once you set up the Direct Debit.

Guarantee or guarantee waiver

Because HMRC is effectively giving you credit, it normally wants security. You have two routes.

A financial guarantee

The guarantee must come from a financial institution that is established in the UK and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority. The guarantee covers the amount you may defer.

A guarantee waiver

A waiver removes the need for a separate guarantee; it does not reduce what you owe. HMRC's conditions include:

no serious or repeated infringements of customs or tax rules in the past 3 years
no record of serious criminal offences related to your business activities in the past 3 years
positive net assets (excluding goodwill) over the past 3 years, or your trading period if shorter
being established in the UK for customs purposes

There are two levels. One lets you defer Customs Duty, import VAT and excise up to £10,000 per month. The other covers a specified amount over £10,000 per month, and for that your net assets must exceed the waiver amount you ask for, both at the application date and at your most recent balance sheet date. Authorised Economic Operators qualify at their deferral limit. If your circumstances worsen, HMRC expects you either to provide a guarantee or to close the account.

The monthly Direct Debit

Charges deferred during a calendar month are collected on the 16th of the following month, or the next working day if the 16th is not a working day. HMRC describes this as between 2 and 6 weeks of credit, around 30 days on average. The Direct Debit must be in pounds sterling through Bacs; very large payments (above £20 million) need a conversation with the Duty Deferment Office about paying by CHAPS.

If you reach your guarantee or account limit for the calendar month, or what is left does not fully cover a new charge, you cannot defer it and must pay by another method straight away. A failed Direct Debit leads to suspension of the account and can bring interest, or revocation.

Goods can be held at the border simply because a monthly limit has run out, so it is worth checking the remaining headroom before a busy period. The guide to CDS import declarations explains where the payment method sits within the declaration.

Your own DDA or your agent's

You do not have to hold an account yourself. Many importers rely on their customs agent, who may have a deferment account and pay the charges on the importer's behalf, then recover the money from the client. HMRC points out a key consequence: an agent acting in its own name on behalf of an importer (that is, as an indirect representative) is jointly and severally liable for any customs debt and may be held responsible for deferment debts incurred by the importer. That is why agents are careful about whose account they will use, and for whom.

The reverse also works. If you hold the account, you can authorise someone else, such as your agent, to use your deferment account number through the Manage import duties and VAT accounts service on your CDS dashboard. In practice:

Your own account gives you control, statements in your name and the monthly credit, but needs an application, a guarantee or waiver and a Direct Debit.
Your agent's account avoids setting anything up, but depends on the agent's terms and payment arrangements.

Direct representation means the importer is liable; indirect representation means the agent shares liability. Whichever you choose, the declaration must reflect it. Our broker checklist helps you decide how much to hand over.

How it fits with postponed VAT accounting

Postponed VAT accounting (PVA) is a separate mechanism that lets VAT-registered businesses account for import VAT on their VAT return rather than paying it at the border. PVA deals with VAT only. Customs Duty and excise still have to be paid, either immediately or through a deferment account. So a regular importer might use PVA for import VAT and a DDA for duty, while an importer outside PVA could use the DDA for duty and import VAT together. See our guide to postponed VAT accounting for first-time importers for the VAT side.

HMRC notes that if you view postponed VAT statements online but do not use duty deferment, you may see an action required notification, which does not necessarily mean something is wrong.

Duty deferment statements

Online statements are available 3 working days before the Direct Debit is taken. They show the deferments made against your account, the total deferred for the month and the dates the deferments started. Check them against your own import records before collection: a mismatch is far easier to query before the money leaves your bank than afterwards.

Deferral is not suspension

A DDA only postpones the payment date; the duty is still due. If you want to avoid paying duty until goods are actually sold or used, or not at all when they are re-exported, you need a customs special procedure instead. Warehousing is the most common one, and this overview of customs warehousing as a way to defer duty explains how it works alongside regular imports.

Related guides

Need to defer duty for longer?

Plutos is a UK–Poland customs information site run by the same team as Easy Clearance. Its guide explains how customs warehousing suspends duty and import VAT until goods leave the warehouse.

Read the warehousing guide

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.