Place of supply VAT query

Is the place of supply where it took place, or where the invoice/customer is based?

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Accounting for VAT services - place of supply 

My client is a singer - Uk registered for VAT. He performed a concert in Germany. He has invoiced a company in the UK in euros with no VAT. 

Is this correct? Would the service be where it took place in Germany, or the customer - which technically is the UK as that is where the invoiced was raised? 

I just want to know whether the service is technically Germany - so reverse charge applies - or in the UK - so really VAT should be charged on the invoice? 

I think this is correct. 

Replies (7)

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By Limited Company
21st Apr 2017 12:33

Im not an accountant but this is one of the questions our previous accountant got wrong. For professional services it is where the client is based (or resident) (i.e. not just visiting). Therefore for our non-EEA clients we dont charge VAT. This has been the practice in all of the firms i have worked in during the last few decades. But please note I am not an accountant.

For German clients, we would charge VAT as if they were UK based.

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By Ruddles
21st Apr 2017 12:49

One for Shaun, I think. For what it's worth, I'd say that the supply is made in Germany (entertainment etc services). Assuming that the singer is not established in Germany I would therefore say that they have an obligation to register in Germany and charge German VAT.

But I bow to Shaun's far superior VAT knowledge.

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
21st Apr 2017 13:10

Just wait for the future of vat when artistes routinely perform abroad using holograms transmitted there but they never physically leave their offshore tax haven, and we get into the really interesting questions of who is the supply to, where is it made, is it digital, does residence require a corporeal body's presence or is one's residence in the future to be determined by one's digital footprint?

Tax planning over the next 20-30 years is going to be really interesting.

I have not got a clue re the actual question.

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By DMGbus
21st Apr 2017 13:41

I would look at section 9 of notice 741A under the heading "Services supplied where performed" which clarifies / confirms different treatment depending upon B2B or B2C services.

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chips_at_mattersey
By Les Howard
21st Apr 2017 14:18

The MS where the invoice was raised is not relevant!
The Place of Supply for a B2B General Rule service is where the recipient belongs.
But, why is the singer invoicing a company? Was it not a public performance?

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Replying to leshoward:
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By Balboa120
21st Apr 2017 14:52

I believe the management company in the UK have paid him to perform a concert in Germany. The management company then sell the tickets.

So with regards to the B2B rule - because the services were performed in Germany - that is where the services are deemed to take place?

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By shaun king
21st Apr 2017 21:57

Your client has provided services to a UK company therefore the place of supply is the UK. The "customer" will then either sell tickets for your client singing in Germany in which case it will be admittance to an event place of supply Germany and German VAT registration required or the "customer" will provide the service of your client to a German promoter in which case it will be a reverse charge.

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