Little question...chatting to a friend of mine and she has been charged VAT on invoices given to her by the person (lets say Animal Care LLP) looking after some animals for her. There is no VAT number quoted on the invoice....... this deepens when she finds out another client has been charged the same amount, only no added VAT! And this other client says Animal Care LLP are NOT VAT registered. We think my friend may have been scammed out of extra money purporting to be VAT. Other than asking Animal Care LLP direct (which is an option - asking for VAT number under the pretence she can put the cost through her own VAT business) is there any other way to see if they are VAT registered. They are an LLP, and for the amount of business the do I would think they should be. But all sounds dodgy!! She is going to pursue this - just seeing if we can gather some actual facts beforehand!
http://vat-search.co.uk is your friend, although it may not be completely up to date. A client I registered in April is on there.
Just a thought, is it possible that this business has just registered for VAT but doesn't have their VAT certificate yet, so are adding the VAT on anyway. I'm thinking a late registration perhaps. They've gone the wrong way about it, but maybe worthwhile your friend ringing up and finding out why there's no VAT no on the invoice.
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John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
The problem with the (official) europa.eu one is that you are starting with a VAT number - Callie's query specifically states that she doesn't have a VAT number. The site suggested by John, however - vat-search.co.uk - works the other way around. You start with the entity's name, and it tells you if they are VAT registered and their registration number.
I hadn't come across that site before and it looks very useful.
There are flaws with it - for one thing because it's an unofficial site, as John notes, it may not be entirely up to date. (It looks as though it started out as a project by a student that was suddenly found to be very popular!). Another point is that its privacy policy (well, "paragraph" rather than "policy") notes that sole traders can request their information is removed from the database (because they are individuals, and this is a privately run search/database).
But still: Useful. Bookmarked. Thanks John!
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
The problem with the (official) europa.eu one is that you are starting with a VAT number - Callie's query specifically states that she doesn't have a VAT number. The site suggested by John, however - vat-search.co.uk - works the other way around. You start with the entity's name, and it tells you if they are VAT registered and their registration number.
I misread it, thought the other third party had a vat number on their invoice and the friend did not.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Thank you al for your advice. I have put the business name into that web search and they don't appear. I know that's not definite proof but a good guide! And why would they charge my friend VAT and not others??? All sounds wrong!! I shall let my friend know your answers.
For the reasons John stated. Although as he also indicated it shouldve been called an 'admin fee' or such rather than VAT until the VAt registration is complete when a proper VAT invoice should then be issued.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
