| Vom Thema belegte Seiten: < [1 2 3 4 5] | Voluntary VAT registration in the UK? Initiator des Themas: Daniela Gieseler-Higgs
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Frances Leggett 
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 17:23
Italienisch > Englisch
+ ...
| Clarification received from HMRC | Oct 18, 2010 |
I finally got around to calling HMRC again and put my question to them again.
The person I spoke to said that translations are "services" and when we offer "services" to other countries around the world we DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER FOR VAT if we earn UNDER the VAT threshold of £70,000 per annum.
If, on the other hand, we were offering "goods", then we would have to register for VAT but he clarified that translations are "services" and therefore translators do not need to regist... See more I finally got around to calling HMRC again and put my question to them again.
The person I spoke to said that translations are "services" and when we offer "services" to other countries around the world we DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER FOR VAT if we earn UNDER the VAT threshold of £70,000 per annum.
If, on the other hand, we were offering "goods", then we would have to register for VAT but he clarified that translations are "services" and therefore translators do not need to register VAT in the UK if they earn under the threshold.
He stated that any agencies in other countries who think they require the VAT number in order to complete their accounting and VAT responsibilities should contact their tax consultants as there are other ways of filling out forms etc without the VAT number.
As to where the whole zero-rating waffle came from (the original HMRC person I spoke to) I have no idea, but if you do get that waffle, apparently it's wrong!
As a result I will be de-registering for VAT (yay) and will no longer have to fill in quarterly VAT returns!!! ▲ Collapse
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Frances Leggett wrote:
DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER FOR VAT if we earn UNDER the VAT threshold of £70,000 per annum.
I suspect that is why the word "voluntary" is in the thread title - we know (or think we know!) we do not NEED to
He stated that any agencies in other countries who think they require the VAT number in order to complete their accounting and VAT responsibilities should contact their tax consultants as there are other ways of filling out forms etc without the VAT number.
He went on to say that he has never travelled more than 5 miles from the place of his birth and has absolutely no experience whatosever in dealing with intransigent clients in other countries who refuse to countenance the possibility they could be wrong, and stubbornly refuse to get the chequebook out until you comply
Seriously, though, I got the feeling this thread was less about strict legal requirements and more about adopting a pragmatic approach to making life easier for clients to pay us.
(Altho it is, of course, helpful to have the regulations set out.)
As to where the whole zero-rating waffle came from (the original HMRC person I spoke to) I have no idea, but if you do get that waffle, apparently it's wrong!
As a general rule, I would reckon that if I speak to 2 people and get conflicting info, I probably need to speak to a third person. However, I've now re-read what you wrote on p.2, and I remember being dumbfounded at the time I read it. I suspect your latest contatc, while short on pragmatism, does have a better idea than your first.
Be interesting to know how de-registering goes, e.g. whether you find yourself selected "at random" for an inspection, or if they keep sending you reminders despite deregistration, or anything else...
| | | | Nikki Graham
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 17:23
Spanisch > Englisch
| Encouraging news | Oct 18, 2010 |
Charlie Bavington wrote:
Frances Leggett wrote:
He stated that any agencies in other countries who think they require the VAT number in order to complete their accounting and VAT responsibilities should contact their tax consultants as there are other ways of filling out forms etc without the VAT number.
He went on to say that he has never travelled more than 5 miles from the place of his birth and has absolutely no experience whatosever in dealing with intransigent clients in other countries who refuse to countenance the possibility they could be wrong, and stubbornly refuse to get the chequebook out until you comply
Seriously, though, I got the feeling this thread was less about strict legal requirements and more about adopting a pragmatic approach to making life easier for clients to pay us.
(Altho it is, of course, helpful to have the regulations set out.)
There's the rub. I'm convinced I've lost clients in Spain as a result of all this palaver. However, not the ones that really matter to me (yet?), so I find Frances' post somewhat reassuring, and will NOT be registering for more hassle, paperwork, submission deadlines, I mean VAT. I have explained to clients in Spain that I do actually have a right to work with them despite not having a magical intra-community number, and asked them to get their accountants to look into it. The fact that some of them still offer me work must mean there is actually a way of sorting it out with the Spanish tax authorities. I live in hope.
| | | | HelenG
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 17:23
Französisch > Englisch
+ ...
| Law misunderstood | Nov 3, 2010 |
Hi everyone,
I have just encountered the same problem. I had encountered it before and had always simply insisted that I did not need to register.
However, now agencies are citing EC Directive 2006/112 on the common system of value added tax as a legal basis for requesting this. The corresponding tax legislation is HMRC Notice 741a which you can look up easily online. It is worth reading because you then know absolutely where you stand rather than relying on hearsay. ... See more Hi everyone,
I have just encountered the same problem. I had encountered it before and had always simply insisted that I did not need to register.
However, now agencies are citing EC Directive 2006/112 on the common system of value added tax as a legal basis for requesting this. The corresponding tax legislation is HMRC Notice 741a which you can look up easily online. It is worth reading because you then know absolutely where you stand rather than relying on hearsay.
According to HMRC Notice 741a, the whole VAT issue depends on the 'place of supply of services' (Article 2) which is the place where VAT liability arises. If the place of supply is outside the UK, it is outside the scope of UK VAT. For Translation services, article 8.1.3 confirms that these are not supplied where performed. As a result, they fall under the B2B (which includes us) general rule for services in Section 5 which states that the place of supply is the country where your customer is based. Therefore, your translation is only subject to VAT in the country of your customer and as your threshold is likely to be below the VAT threshold in any one foreign country, it is very unlikely that you have to register for VAT there.
I have checked my interpretation of this with HMRC who confirmed it.
I honestly think that many agencies actually simply don't understand the legislation.
I will not be registering for VAT and have advised my client that it needs to get further clarification on the issue as it is misinterpreting it. I will not add 4 days of unpaid work to my year filling out tax returns.
The saga continues... ▲ Collapse
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