Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, if a UK resident buys furniture in the UK and takes it abroad, they will have to make a second VAT payment if the furniture is returned to the UK after three years.
Goods imported into the UK, including furniture, are subject to customs duties and import VAT unless any relief applies.
The Returned Goods Relief (RGR) is a long-standing measure which relieves goods from customs duty and import VAT where the owner exports the goods from the UK and returns these within three years. This period can be extended on a case by case basis in exceptional circumstances.
Under transitional rules, goods which had been transported from the UK to the EU more than three years ago and were located in the EU at the end of the transition period, can also benefit from RGR provided these return to the UK by 30 June 2022.