Can someone clarify the position regarding VAT receipts for the supply of services that are paid by monthly direct debit please?
One of my newish customers pays a laundry to come and collect then wash their overalls etc. The laundry is paid by direct debit, the same amount each month. I haven't seen a VAT receipt (or any other paperwork), although the payment is set up on the system as including VAT (I had hoped that new paperwork would appear when the VAT rate changed, but it hasn't).
I feel slightly uneasy about reclaiming VAT without a receipt in an open ended arrangement, but this is a large company so I would be very surprised if they weren't supplying the necessary paperwork. I've been checking on the HMRFC website and can't find anything to put my mind at rest.
You should contact the company and ask them to supply the missing VAT receipts. Some companies will only supply them if asked.
In the past when I did this and the company refused, I would tell them I will be cancelling the DDR if they didn't supply a VAT receipt. On the odd occassion when I would actually have to do it - all the outstanding receipts would appear and I would then reinstate the DDR! On one occassion after they stopped arriving again, I rang the VAT helpline and complained about not getting VAT receipts. A couple of months later they arrived and continued to arrive - I think they got a VAT inspection so they made sure they went out.
