Hotels and restaurants refusing to provide VAT invoices where payment is by voucher

Hotels and restaurants refusing to provide VAT...

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A client buys vouchers for hotels and restaurants from sites like Travel Zoo, which acts as agent for the hotels and restaurants for which it sells the vouchers. Sometimes, the establishment refuses to provide a VAT invoice on the erroneous grounds that their contract is not with him but with voucher seller. I think it is more likely they simply don't know how to produce a VAT invoice without taking payment in the form of cash or a card. Has anyone else or their clients had this problem and found a way to get the invoice, short of reporting the business to HMRC?

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By Portia Nina Levin
26th Jan 2016 16:15

The hotel/restaurant may be correct, depending on the exact voucher terms. On what basis do you say that the voucher provider is acting as agent?

It is also possible that the hotel/restaurant has got this wrong. There are a number of voucher providers who all deal on different terms.

However, most of the vouchers carry conditions when sold; one of those conditions being that they are for personal use.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-7007-business-prom... to understand the VAT nightmare that vouchers represent

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By chatman
26th Jan 2016 16:56

Thanks Portia, especially for the link. He uses Travel Zoo, which I know acts as agent because they make it clear on their web site.

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