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When an overseas VAT registration is required

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Neil Warren reviews a case about goods temporarily arriving in the UK and explains why the issues it raised are important in the post-Brexit trading world.

14th Apr 2021
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Imagine your business is based in the UK and registered for VAT. You have the chance to make a quick profit on some goods that are stored in Ireland. You will buy them from an Irish business for £3,000 plus 23% Irish VAT of £690 and sell them for £5,000 to a private individual there – the goods never leave Ireland. What is the VAT position?

There are three important myths to dispel with this scenario:

Myth 1: Sales are less than the Irish registration threshold

You might think that Irish VAT is not relevant because the £5,000 sale is below the Irish registration threshold. You are wrong: an overseas business does not get a registration threshold in another country – only its own. The threshold for a non-Irish business making sales in Ireland is ‘nil’.

Myth 2: Not established in Ireland so don’t need to worry about Irish VAT

You might decide that Irish VAT is not an issue because you have no ‘fixed establishment’ or ‘business establishment’ in that country – in other words, no head office, warehouse or trading premises.

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By LW64
15th Apr 2021 10:52

An extension to this article on loss of triangulation would be good.

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