Pay for imports declared using the Customs Declaration Service

If you’ve used the Customs Declaration Service to make a declaration for goods you’ve imported into the UK, you can pay what you owe on them straight away.

If the deadline is on a weekend or bank holiday, make sure your payment reaches HMRC by the end of the previous working day.

If you do not pay by the deadline, you may need to pay a penalty, interest or both.

You need your 16-character reference number starting with ‘CDSI’. You will have been given this when you made your declaration.

You will get a different reference number for every declaration you make using the Customs Declaration Service.

Make sure you give the full, correct CDSI reference number.

If you use an incorrect number there will be a delay in clearing your goods or the payment will be used to pay a different tax bill you owe. If your payment has paid the wrong tax bill, you can contact National Clearance Hub to ask for your payment to be moved.

You can pay online using one of the following methods:

You can pay by approving a payment through your online bank account by selecting the ‘pay by bank account’ option.

You will be directed to sign in to your online or mobile banking account to approve your payment.

You will need to have your online banking details to hand to pay this way.

The payment is usually instant but can take up to 2 hours to show in your bank account.

Paying by debit or corporate credit card

You can make a full payment online using a debit or corporate credit card. There is a non-refundable fee if you use a corporate credit or debit card. You cannot pay by personal credit card.

Your payment will be accepted on the date you make it and not the date it reaches HMRC’s account (including weekends and bank holidays).

You must make sure the details you enter match those held by your bank or card provider. For example, the billing address should match the one your card is currently registered with.