Hello,
I can't find a categoric answer to this online so seeking some advice from learned friends..
Just had a call from a client that is working for a company based in the Bahamas.
He is a builder here in the UK and suppliers from the UK of materials etc are going to bill the offshore company based in the Bahamas direct for their costs.
Should the invoices include VAT?
My line was 'no' and that my client can send a letter obtained from the Bahamas company to the supplier stating their jurisdiction and that they are exempt from VAT in the UK.
Am I correct?
I have a feeling there may be some complications due to this being work on a property...
Many thanks in advance.
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Replies (8)
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No
You are not correct.
Bahamanian companies cannot simply claim to be "exempt from VAT". Charities try to do the same thing, and they are just as wrong.
If a supplier supplies goods and has the necessary evidence that those goods have been removed from the UK, then they can zero-rate their supply, but that is a different matter entirely.
So is the issue the place of supply i.e the works are occurring in the UK so VAT is applied?
Are you saying
That something is being built in the UK and the goods that are being supplied for building it are staying in the UK. If so, it is all liable to UK VAT, where supplied by a VAT registered person, and you should not be giving your clients VAT advice.
I appreciate your answers and time but not your manner/ attitude.
I'm by no means a VAT expert. I spoke with my client 1 hour ago on the phone in a conversation he initiated. I was unsure of the validity my response hence took to the internet and this forum.
I just got confused by the Place of Supply issue/
You have helped and I have found answers elsewhere too.
However, I thought the section was called 'any answers' not 'any answers and a smart [***] comment'.
Enjoy your day.
PNL
I appreciate your answers and time but not your manner/ attitude.
I'm by no means a VAT expert. I spoke with my client 1 hour ago on the phone in a conversation he initiated. I was unsure of the validity my response hence took to the internet and this forum.
I just got confused by the Place of Supply issue/
You have helped and I have found answers elsewhere too.
However, I thought the section was called 'any answers' not 'any answers and a smart [***] comment'.
Enjoy your day.
I appreciate I am part of this nonsense too, but someone once said something very profound to me - never ever read the bottom half of the internet. This is the comments space below the news, question etc, the domain of cranks, lunatics, oddballs, creeps and the occasional tax know-it-all. Read it at your peril
Builder here in the UK?
So supplied in the UK & not exported. Why wouldn't they charge VAT?
Portia, Portia
Surely you know by now the answer is....
Spock.
Apart from that unless the supply (OP) is suddenly taking place in Singapore then all UK; all UK VAT, unless zero rating applies because of a relevant charitable or relevant residential purposes, although of course any materials only supply will carry VAT.
I am hoping that the 'No' line from the original poster hasn't already been given to the builder asking the question!
EDIT: obviously I had my window open too long and I see I've cross posted and that the advice has already been given and will now need correcting, I also see our Spammy friend advertising Singapore loan sharks has disappeared. Too bad; it was a step up from the 'that's very interesting info, here's a link to soundcloud' spam we were seeing the other day.
Who are you calling a creep?
Crank, lunatic, oddball and occasional tax know-it-all I can live with!