Hi Steph

We normally ask newbies to post some background about themselves. Are you the bookkeeper for this company or purely in charge of the exports? Plus have you ever dealt with exporting before? What size is the export department (Im guessing its an office of one and its you!). Plus how long have they been exporting?

This is not actually a bookkeeping question, but one relating to exporting.

Bet you are popular in Poland right now, although by rights they should have had copies of the commercial invoice before the goods landed and should really have been rejecting the invoice before they paid to allow the goods in past customs.

I need to make another assumption given the lack of info - that the exports are on open account and not part of a Letter of Credit or Documentary collection or other such trade finance thing? (A salutory lesson for the Polish and for not having an agent in the UK checking things!)

If there is a trade finance angle then you absolutely must get your Bankers on the case - they will have dealt with this a million times. Also - if you use their International trade centres many of them will provide some excellent training in this area. if not, well you are sort of on your own (although not as alone as if you had been on the importing end of things!), except for the likes of HMRC and a couple of other places. re HMRC you will just need to hang on that phone until they answer it. They will....eventually. They are always garbage at picking it up!!!!

The other places to go - UKTI and Great Business. They might send you off somewhere else for help but start with them.

Also - given its your mistake and not the Polish company I would be having a conversation with the equivalent of the VAT people in Poland, especially if you dont get much joy through UKTI and the like.