A question for online UK businesses exporting orders B2C ….when you send an order overseas what proof do you retain for HMRC to show the order has been exported and no VAT will be due? We ship using Royal Mail International Tracked.
Hi @Anchoright
For UK B2C exports, HMRC requires you to keep commercial + transport evidence proving the goods physically left the UK in order to zero-rate VAT.
If you’re using Royal Mail International Tracked, most sellers retain:
Proof of Postage
Royal Mail receipt (shows destination country + service used).
Tracking Confirmation
Online tracking showing:
Item accepted in the UK
Export scan
Delivered overseas (or at least leaving the UK network)
Commercial Evidence
Keep
Customer order confirmation Invoice showing overseas address Payment record
Best Practice
Download and store:
Royal Mail tracking page (PDF/screenshot)
Proof of postage receipt
Order + invoice copy
HMRC generally expects evidence within 3 months of sale to justify zero-rating.
Many UK sellers keep a digital folder per month with:
Orders
Tracking proof
Postage receipts
That’s usually sufficient if HMRC ever reviews exports
Thanks for this. So to clarify,
- order information - which will be retained in shopify
- potage information - PDF of the royal mail postage and export certificates
- proof of postage - this is the tricky one….we need to get this for every package from the post office when we take it there?