Hello
Hoping there is someone who can advise me here.
I have just paid money to a VAT registered business for a MK3 hardtop which is to be collected from the business by a forwarding shipping company and sent to the recipient third party customer in Barbados.
The seller confirmed that the price I paid included VAT.
I believe that purchases in these circumstances should be net of UK VAT.
Can anyone advise of the easiest way to get this VAT back please?
Normally you contact the seller before purchase and declare where the item is going ( outside the UK )
They should then remove vat from the price.
Pretty sure the rules are different because YOU ( a uk resident ) purchased it in the UK and will do the exporting yourself.
As above.
You have bought it in the UK and paid for it in the UK.
Unless you, as the buyer are vat registered, in which case you would reclaim the vat and export without vat, or you are registered as living outside of the UK, that is what it costs.
If the party from overseas had bought it direct, then it would be without UK vat.
I’m guessing your problem now is, you have paid more than you are selling for.
Thanks for the responses guys.
Certainly if the payment were by card, the delivery address would normally have to match the card billing address for standard security reasons, apart from anything else. This transaction was BACS, so no tie up with address or indeed origination of funds; I would not expect that to be checked to validate the overseas transaction, would you?
The facts are that this item has been purchased for export to Barbados, so should have been free of VAT at purchase time. Invoicing/receipting a purchaser in Barbados with some proof of onward delivery of the part to Barbados should surely be enough?
As the VAT element has been paid, I either have to try to negotiate with the seller for a refund or is there any way that can be suggested to claim the VAT element back?. I will have a legitimate VAT receipt/invoice with all pertinent details, documenting payment of the VAT. It would make sense that there is a way, having erroneously paid the VAT that is could be claimed back?
Oh Nick, I am not VAT registered; this would really have made things a lot easier if I was.
The Barbadian buyer is a good customer and has already offered to let the VAT go and pay in full. This is about principle; he should not have to pay our VAT.
Basic info for BACS.
“Your BACS transfer can be tracked - they’ll use your Federal Reference number to trace it. They’ll be able to see the transactional details between your bank, the corresponding bank into which funds are being deposited, as well as identify the wire transfer’s current location.”
This will have identified you as a UK buyer and therefore subject to VAT.
On top of which, the selling company needs to have all the export info ahead of time as they need to prepare the export documentation so they can exempt the vat at their end or they are liable for the vat.
I guess, in principal, if the supplier wants to play ball, that, as it is likely still in the same vat quarter, they could modify and repost invoices and refund the vat to you. However, that is a right PIA and also puts them in the spotlight as doing something dodgy. If their invoice to you shows your address then they are absolutely correct in charging vat.
And just to follow that up.
If a customer came to me, from the UK, and said I want to buy some tyres, which I will send a courier to collect, because they are going abroad, so I want you to deduct vat. I would want to have the delivery address, but as a vat registered business I want export details as well as I have to provide commodity codes and a host of other stuff, because I need to include these on my commercial invoice for export, even if the UK bill payer has instructed the shipping company to do complete export paperwork because without it, I am liable for the vat. Just think how many orders would be “don’t add vat, they are going abroad, there will be a van round tomorrow to pick them up.”
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