One for the accountants on here..

[powertools]

I have been ripped off by a company not for a large amount but an annoying amount a portion of this is supposed to be vat. I very much suspect that the company is not vat registered is there any way i can find out if the company is registered.

 

[AJB Temple]

Any company claiming to be VAT registered must publish the number on invoices etc. You then check the number here:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/

 

[Glynne]

Notify HMR&C. If the business is Vat registered they can record the transaction and check it on the next audit. If they aren't registered it is an offence and have HMR&C chase them.

 

[RobinBHM]

I had a company that charged vat on his prices, I paid against a proforma. Then he would never send me a proper invoice.

He eventually sent me an invoice, with a VAT number. I checked it and found it wasnt a real number. Its such a stupid thing to do.

I suppose if he had issued a VAT invoice in the first place I wouldnt have checked if the number was real.

Our bookeeper checks every invoice as it entered on Sage to make sure it is a valid vat invoice, ie has vat no, vat breakdown, tax date etc.

Annoyingly these days too many Amazon and ebay marketplace sellers dont bother sending invoices, so we have to spend time chasing them up and not claiming back the vat where we cant get a proper invoice.

 

[Inoffthered]

Notwithstanding any action taken that may by HMRC, if you have been charged VAT by a business that is not vat registered then if the business refused to make a repayment you could claim the overpayment through the small claims court. I cannot think of any valid defence to charging vat when not registered.

With regards to Amazon/Ebay suppliers not providing (vat) invoices, I suggest emailing them and advising them that unless they comply with your request for an invoice you will report them to HMRC. Sending an invoice is not optional.

HMRC is going after businesses operating through Ebay, Amazon or via an internet shop that may have not registered as a business or who may not be declaring all income.

Whereas I am in favour of competition, it is impossible for legitimate businesses to compete against those that do not pay tax or account for vat properly. They can have no complaint if they are shopped to HMRC who do react to complaints of malpractice.

 

[powertools]

Many thanks for the replies.
I was given an invoice that had vat separately displayed but did not have a vat number on it. I know that i could report this to HMRC but that would not help me get my money back. I would like to know if the company is registered or not and if they are not i can tell them that i will report them unless they refund me.
Seems strange to me that you can take the details of any car on the road and find out if it is taxed, has an mot and is insured but there seems to be no way to find out if a ltd company is vat registered.

 

[jlawford]

You can. There's a link you may have missed further up this thread...

 

[AJB Temple]

There is: you do not pay VAT if no VAT number is provided. A company charging VAT must provide the number if it wishes to charge it. When it does you can check its validity via the link above.

Charging VAT output tax when not registered for VAT is a criminal offence. It is theft and the police could and should be involved and HMRC informed.

You can also try this link, although beware that it is not infallible and they dump cookies on your PC. http://vat-search.co.uk

 

[RobinBHM]

Notwithstanding any action taken that may by HMRC, if you have been charged VAT by a business that is not vat registered then if the business refused to make a repayment you could claim the overpayment through the small claims court. I cannot think of any valid defence to charging vat when not registered.

With regards to Amazon/Ebay suppliers not providing (vat) invoices, I suggest emailing them and advising them that unless they comply with your request for an invoice you will report them to HMRC. Sending an invoice is not optional.

HMRC is going after businesses operating through Ebay, Amazon or via an internet shop that may have not registered as a business or who may not be declaring all income.

Whereas I am in favour of competition, it is impossible for legitimate businesses to compete against those that do not pay tax or account for vat properly. They can have no complaint if they are shopped to HMRC who do react to complaints of malpractice.

Its not so much the few companies that wont send an invoice, its the annoyance that so many we deal with dont email an invoice as a matter of course. That means having to chase the invoice creating an extra process for purchase ledger items.

Screwfix weirdly on click and collect items dont always give the vat invoice. The online order only issues a confirmation and in the shop sometimes its a proper invoice sometimes not.

 

[powertools]

I fully understand that if i have a vat number number on an invoice i can see if it is valid. Why can't i have a company number number and see if it is registered?

 

[RobinBHM]

I fully understand that if i have a vat number number on an invoice i can see if it is valid. Why can't i have a company number number and see if it is registered?

VAT search seems to do what you ask, Ive just tried it and it found my companies vat number using the company name and postcode to search with.

and you could ring the HMRC after all, their official advise is that they recommend input tax invoices are verified.

Apparently its now a real problem for sellers on ebay, there are many Chinese sellers that claim to be posting from abroad but are actually shipping from a distribution warehouse in the UK but not applying vat. It means that geniune UK sellers cant compete as they are 20% more expensive

 

[AJB Temple]

Both of the links that I posted work. I used to be a lawyer and chartered accountant (I know, double whammy) when I was in professional life so I was born cynical. I once employed a builder to erect a large timber frame, clad and tile. This was a large barn so it was a big job. He was a lovely bloke and did a great job. He charged VAT on it and was not registered. I just paid the net amount. He was very shocked. But he was attempting to defraud both me and HMRC so it was hard to have sympathy. I run legitimate businesses, like many on here, so it really annoys me when people defraud customers in the way described in this thread. By far teh best policy is not to part with the VAT component unless you have a verified VAT invoice. OK, not a big deal for trivial sums, bit for big ticket items I check every single one.