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Complex VAT situation: You are working across several countries with different VAT systems, laws and conditions. Your venture in itself produces a complex VAT situation. Making sure you follow regulations: You want to make sure you don't step on anyones toes but also don't want to pay more VAT and do more paperwork than necessary. Expert advice in your language: You want to understand what is going on and have the specific way in which VAT regulations apply to the details of your situation carefully explained to you by an expert in you language. Tailor-made expert advice: There are many complications that can come along. St Matthew eAccounting Expert VAT Advice Service is therefore intended for complicated and exceptional cases. We will show you some examples of situations we have come across and so you can have an idea. However, this does not, of course, replace an in-depth consultancy process, which St Matthew eAccounting offers in a consultation. Interested? Get started now with a consultation! Claiming back double VAT Some of our European clients needlessly pay VAT twice - in the UK and in their EU country. You can claim this VAT back under the EU 8th directive if your input VAT exceeds your output VAT. However, there is no right to deduct input VAT if you: - use them for an exempt activity or
- are not obliged to charge VAT on his outputs (e.g. schools, banks, insurance companies, small businesses under the registration threshold etc).
VAT returns
Once the certificate has been issued, the first period will be set by HM Revenue for the UK or Revenue Commissioners for Ireland. Whenever the date is set, the VAT returns in the UK have to be filed every three months. St Matthew eAccounting does this for you as part of our Head Office London or Dublin Service. Interested? Get started now with a consultation! Case StudiesThis is a teilor-made service and the best way to know what the regulations are in your situation is to talk to our expert advicers in an intial consultation. However, in order to give you an insight to what we can help you with we have put together a couple of case studies. Case Study A - German company sub-contracted by other German companies to build a recycling plant in the UK
- The contract involved sending staff to the UK for a temporary period whilst the plant was built
- The company initially thought, as the services that it was supplying were to German companies, that there were no UK VAT implications and invoices were therefore raised without UK VAT
- However UK VAT rules determine that the place of supply for this type of service is the UK and hence UK VAT should be applied to the relevant invoices
- As a result the company was required to make a back-dated VAT registration and had to re-issue invoices (with VAT added) to its clients
- An awkward situation, potential to damage client relationships and the risk that the additional VAT was not recovered from the clients
- This situation could have been avoided if VAT advice had been sought up front.
Case Study B - UK internet company selling products to other EU countries (or vice-versa)
- It is not widely known that if you make sales over a certain value in any one country by way of “postal sales” that there is a requirement to register for VAT in that other country
- The rules are known as the “distance selling” rules and include sales made by internet sites, catalogues etc
- Each EU country has its own threshold and VAT registration is required in each country that the threshold is breached
- Clients need to be aware of country specific thresholds
- The requirement to register for VAT in other countries can present a large administrative burden to small companies
- Non-hindrance to the rules is likely to result in potential penalties
- St Matthew eAccounting can provide advice on when prospective clients need to register and can ease the ongoing administrative burden of VAT filing in the UK and Ireland
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