With the likely introduction of the new fixed fee scheme under part 3 of the TCE Act would it not be sensible for the government to make these fees zero rated for VAT? With this so called Value Added Tax currently set at 20% it forms no small part of what is payable by debtors. Has this been considered by the Advice Sector?

Hello all! :)I am a tenant living a flat above a retail premises.My electicity meter is located in the shop below and is a sub-meter to their main meter. My share of the electricity bill is divided up, charged to me every month and paid alongside my rent. Now then! I have recently recieved an email from my landlords property manager stating that my share of all previous bills did not include VAT and therefore I owe them additional money.After asking why the bills were not issued inclusive of VAT, I was told that the electicity account with Utility Warehouse is a business account and therefore VAT is not added to the amount.I swiftly rang Utility Warehouse and asked if this was correct. They confirmed that the bill comes with 2 pages; the first is totalled without VAT and the second is totalled with VAT. That said, I assumed that the bills had been worked out from the front page total by mistake.HOWEVER, should I be paying VAT on my share of the bill anyway? The business will surely be able to claim back the VAT through their accounts, right? If this is the case, am I effectively just paying my landlord more rent?All help welcome, thanks in advance

hello all I have a problem regarding import VAT for my business. At the start of the year, I purchased goods from a company in Saudi on agreed payment terms of 60 days from shipping date. When I received the relevant documents, I forwarded these onto my customs clearing agent, who then took care of duty, vat etc on my behalf using their deferment HMRC account, and I would then pay back to them the sum paid in VAT once I had received the goods. however, the supplier in Saudi then changed their minds on the payment terms and insisted on a bank guarantee from me (letter of credit or such like) which I was not in a position to offer. therefore, they changed the consignee for the goods to a company based in the UK with whom they already dealt with, and this company took complete ownership. I then completed my vat return for the period, but HMRC are refusing to issue a reclaim on the vat associated with these goods as my business never took ownership, but of course the agent acting on my behalf had paid the duty and vat on my behalf. the other uk company refused to pay the vat, although they paid the duty element direct to my agent as they had now taken the goods themselves. therefore, I have not paid any sums to the supplier or the agent, and the agent are now trying to take me to court for the outstanding amount they paid originally (£11,500) HMRC still refuse my claim, the company who have taken ownership of the goods have agreed with HMRC that they will pay the vat for these goods in their sales (which will show on their VAT return), and my agent is currently £11,500 out of pocket I have tried speaking with all parties involved without success, and now face the prospect of losing in court and having to make the payment of £11,500 plus costs although I haven't ever actually received any goods any advice on this would be appreciated

My turn to ask for some advice Need to convert a space in to a shower & toilet for the use of a disabled relative - She has recently been registered blind and is beginning to suffer from mobility issues. Not yet confined to a wheelchair and still able to wash without assistance. Have had some outlandish quotes to do the installation and a couple that are within budget, however, not one (until today) has mentioned that I might qualify for VAT relief. The quote I'm tempted to go for, the contractor is not VAT registered, so the question is: Would it be possible to reclaim the VAT, either in part or in full on the materials used from HMRC ? I suspect I'm probably going to have to contact HMRC on Monday, but I thought I'd throw it out to a wider audience to see if anyone has had a similar experience..

Hello all, I hired a car via Holiday Autos, and it was provided by Alamo, who in turn actually subbed it out to Europcar when I actually received my rental voucher...... and that is fine. When I got to France I went to pick up the car, and decided to take out the policy excess insurance, and paid for it there and then (or so I believed I guess)..... which was something like 150EUR A week after my holiday I got a bill from Europcar which detailed that VAT had been charged on this excess policy..... this seems illegal to me. If the rental insurance was taken out seperately whilst in-country, and a credit card was provided to pay for this, then this is a French transaction surely, and so no VAT should be charged on top? What do you guys think? Thanks, Ben

Hello to everyone, I am a new member and I am interested in other members views on a credit agreement taken out with Santander in Oct 2011. My wife bought a static caravan in 2011; the invoice total was for £37000, which included £31000 for the caravan and additionally, further site costs of £6000. The Santander agreement signed to finance the purchase totals £37000; however, it states that the purchase is for a static caravan: value £31000 plus £6000 VAT. The agreement says that Santander has purchased the caravan on behalf of my wife and owns the caravan until the full price is repaid. My query is about the inclusion of VAT in the agreement and its effect on the enforceability of the agreement. Would they be legally entitled to reposess the caravan if we stopped the payments. I would grateful of any informed views and suggestions as to how to proceed with this.

Hi All, I wonder if you could help me with a query. I run a small IT company which is VAT registered. (Currently I am not working with it though due to illness - I hope to return to work soon) The business holds a large customer which is the main source of the businesses income. On a typical month the customer would be invoiced for the following: Labour in the form of IT Support 3x Internet Connections on a Reseller Agreement I hold with an ISP Both services I charge the standard 20% VAT rate. What my query is. Is do I need to charge VAT on the Labour part? Because of that I lose 20% of the invoice value which sadly would see me better off on Disability Benefits once PAYE is deducted even further. Can anyone advise me on how I could reduce my VAT overheads as these are incredibly costly! Cheers, Shark * edited to add, the company is currently being run by someone else in my absence, but I want to make sure the goal posts are in the right place when I return

A friend bought a commercial fishing boat which will continue to be used in a business venture . The year old boat was advertised at 150k so he phoned to ask if that was the full price or is there vat to be paid . 150k covered everything he was told . All the correct paperwork from the vessel registery and departments of fishing etc were duly signed by both seller and buyer (a process that took months posting forms that needed both to sign back and forth) . But now he's told by the vat office he could claim vat back if he had an invoice and the sellers vat number . He has niether . The seller has long been a fisherman so is obviously vat registered and had the boat built only a year before . As the seller almost definately claimed vat back on the build my friend believes the vat man would send him a bill when the boat was sold (is that how it works ?) Hence my friends business should be able to reclaim the vat . The seller has always been good to respond to letters but never answers the phone . His general attitude is "if you need something signed just post it to me and i'll sign it" and has been true to his word every time . I wonder if someone could offer a template bill of sale that will not set alarm bells off when the seller sees it , that will also satisfy the vat man so the money can be reclaimed ?

(just hat to lol at my Mac there saying Dalmatians instead of Donations)... Anyway, I run a new company, just started off and am about to sign up for VAT. It is an Apple Softwre development company. In short, I make apps for iPhones, iPads and Mac's. Some of the apps will be paid (I say will as I haven't gone VAT yet), but other's aren't as they're part of community projects for which I get donations. When I go live with the company and that code I used (the software I designed) is part of the community project (which I have NO intention for charging for), how would I account for the donations thankful members send me? At the moment as an individual, every penny goes into NSPCC, but when I start the company, I would like to have these funds parted between NSPSCC and some back into the project itself (cost of hosting websites etc...). Can someone give me some pointers as to how to handle this as to date, the HMRC like me as I've remained transparent and I don't want something like this muddying up the waters. Cheers A

Good Morning all, This might sound a bit strange. I put may freelander in to Volkscar in Dartford, Kent for a replacement fuel pump, that was ok, but a week later a fault light appeared on the dashboard, I informed Volkscar, they said to bring it in, this I did. The mechanic did a diagnostics, and cleard the fault, but noticed that the camshaft sensor needed replacing, in the ensuing discussion it was decided that I should bring it back a week later to have the sensor replaced. This I did, left my phone number so he could call me to let me know the price. The mechanic called back and said my car was ready and quoted £130. I went to the cashpoint and drew out the £130 in cash owing to the fact that whenI went to pay for the fuel pump, the owner gave me such a hard time for using my debit card and not cash. I arrived at Volkscar with my money to pay for the work, on production of the cash, which caused his eyes to light up, I told him that Sam had quoted me that amount. The owner then started getting stroppy with me over the fact that Sam had not quoted me a price with VAT, as sam never said £130 plus VAT. The owner then proceeded to soo me out of the office saying in a very forceful tone "Go 1 , take your car and GO! ", this I did, feeling very confused and guilty, but left anyway. Later on I realised that he did not give me an invoice for the work carried out, so I phoned him up saying that he did not give a invoice for the work, he promptly and in an iritating tone, "You refused to pay the VAT, when you pay the VAT I will issue one" I never at any time refused topay the VAT, as far as I was concerned it is included in the price, this was not even discussed when I was handing over my cash. My questions are: Can he do that and what can I do about it? If as he says I owe him VAT, why did he let me take the car away? I begin to suspect that my £130 has not been accounted for and some sort of VAT fiddle. Regards Geoff

Last June I paid for a year's storage in advance with a well know self-storage company. At the time I took the opportunity to negotiate down the charges they initally quoted for renewal (I've been using them for several years now). The negotiation was all done over the phone and no mention was made of VAT at the time. I am now being asked by them to pay VAT on the charges relating to October onwards. They claim that they had not known the storage charges were liable for VAT until recently when their lawyers confirmed that it was. I've looked on the government web site and see that it was made quite clear when the announcement of future VAT liability was announced in the budget, it was also announced that "anti-forestalling measures" would apply from 21 March, therefore the Self Storage company should have known that there would be a VAT liability. As a concession, the company is only asking for half of the VAT, but this is still a significant sum. So my question is: Am I liable for the VAT or should the company have known about it and included it in the agreed sum that I paid in June? Thanks for any help.

Hi all - just after a bit of advice to be honest. I am on Vodaphone - I have three phones on a pay monthly contract - the account is in my sisters name and she has 4 phones on her contract. I use the vodaphone app on the iphone to get my monthly bill - I then transfer the money to my sisters account - over the last few months she has contacted me and told me that she is being charged VAT @ 20% on the whole account. I have contacted vodaphone and they have told me that the app gives me the bill for my phone in full and that there should be no more VAT to pay by me. She keeps refusing permission for me to see the online account and I feel obliged to pay the extra VAT that she is telling me about. I am totally confused and can feel a fall out coming on over this - its extra money every month. Advice please.........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19731923

New rules come into force today,following campaigns to axe the proposed "Pastie Tax" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19731923

When ordering goods (for example on the Internet) from outside the EU, import VAT is not due if value of goods is less than £15: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm#3 What if one makes multiple orders from the same retailer, each of them of less than £15 of value? Would the HMRC count these as a single order and impose VAT or treat them as individual items? Thank you

Hotels are routinely breaching government guidelines and advertising standards rules by not including VAT in headline prices online. A Which? Travel investigation found that 11 out of 24 hotel chains included hotels that did not initially include VAT in their web prices. This breaches Department for Business Innovation and Skills guidance, which states that all prices given to consumers should include VAT and the total price must be displayed 'prominently'. Hotel web prices When we looked at hotel chains' websites in July we found properties displaying initial prices that excluded VAT. They did not make it clear that the real price was 20% higher until a later stage in the online booking process. We found properties in the following chains that did not include VAT in the headline price; Crowne Plaza, Doubletree by Hilton, Guoman, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Malmaison, Marriott, Mercure, Radisson Blu, Sofitel, and Thistle. Some did not include VAT until the payment page. For instance, Hilton and Doubletree added it at stage four of a five stage booking process. From stage two, details were available but hidden in a 'rate details' pop-up box. Hotel price rules We investigated the hotels after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint that VAT-exclusive prices on the websites of Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) and its subsidiary Crowne Plaza were misleading and breached the ASA code. The ASA has started a compliance action to get the whole UK hotel sector to fall into line with its code. VAT and hotel prices Trading Standards experts warn that hotels not including VAT in headline prices are potentially breaching the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. Martin Fisher, of the Trading Standards Institute, said that, to be sure of staying on the right side of the law, businesses should not quote VAT-exclusive prices in any dealings with consumers. Price should include VAT A Which? spokesperson said: "Our research shows that many hotels are breaking the regulations by only revealing the 20% charge later in the online booking process. "We want hotels to adhere to the rules and be up front about the total cost of booking a room by including VAT in the headline price." http://www.which.co.uk/news/2012/08/hotel-vat-missing-from-headline-prices--294265/

Last year I paid for a year's subscription to a well-known 'internet security' software product and later realised that I had been charged about £9 for UK VAT that had been included in the price. The supplier company is based in the UK, but I am resident in Jersey, Channel Islands, an area which is outside the scope of VAT (although a domestic 5% sales tax is levied on goods and services over a certain value). I should add that I was using the software for purely domestic and not business purposes. When the time came to renew my subscription, I queried whether the company had the right to charge me the VAT. The e-mail reply that I received stated that the price of the internet security subscription was "the same with or without VAT, we can include the VAT percentage in the invoice for companies that use it to deduct from local taxes. In your case for the Channel Islands, the price is in full with 0% VAT." Consequently I declined to renew my subscription, not only because of the VAT issue, but because I thought they were overcharging for their product anyway. I have since come across the EU rules on 'Electronically Supplied Services' that came into force in 2003. On the face of it, 'downloaded software (including updates of software)' clearly seems to be covered by this definition. However, having read the information sheet provided by HM Revenue & Customs, I am still not sure whether or not a UK company supplying software to a Channel Islands non-business customer is obliged to add UK VAT and am therefore hoping that CAG members might be able to enlighten me a bit further. I am sorry but I am being prevented by petty board rules from including the appropriate link to the 11-page HM R&C information sheet with this message, but below I have quoted some extracts. There seems to be a contradiction in the HM R&C rules. On the one hand, they state that the use and enjoyment provisions do not apply where (amongst other things) "the supply is to a private individual or non-business organisation..." (page 6 of 11). This would appear to mean that I would indeed be liable to pay UK VAT even though I am using and enjoying the product outside of the EU. On the other hand, it states at the top of page 2 that "if you are a UK supplier of these services, you will no longer be required to account for VAT on supplies to: businesses in other Member States or non-EU customers (except, in certain circumstances, where they are used and enjoyed in the UK)." Note that it doesn't specify that the non-EU customers have to be business ones. This sounds more promising. Furthermore, it states the following at the top of page 4: "The place of supply is where the customer belongs when electronically supplied services are received by: any customer who belongs outside the EU or a customer who belongs in a Member State, but in a different country (EU or non-EU) to the supplier, and who receives the supply for business purposes or a private individual or non-business organisation who belongs in a Member State, when supplied by a non-EU business." It goes on to add that "supplies by UK providers to customers in the first two categories above are not subject to UK VAT because they are outside its scope." Therefore I take the above to mean that even if I don't qualify under the use and enjoyment provisions, I should still be exempt from paying UK VAT for my internet security under the place of supply provisions, because I am a customer who belongs outside the EU. What does everyone else think?

Hi folks. Can anyone help and also maybe put this in the right place? My ex bought a business 2-years ago as a going concern and the price agreed of £19,000 was 'lock stock and barrel'. The business was VAT registered, my ex was not. She's just received a letter from the previous owner's solicitor stating that, he has had to pay VAT on the sale and because of that they are claiming £2,829 inc interest from her. Should she pay this? Are they right to claim it? Many thanks, Stu