Irish & UK Registration - Vat Rates

[ldeejenn]

I wonder if anyone could shed any light of vat rates for me. I've spent a considerable amount of time reading up on Irish & Uk vat rules and have managed to confuse myself.

We are currently registered for VAT in Ireland and UK, and are UK based. I'm trying to clarify whether our current approach is correct, in particular whether we should be charging UK or Irish VAT on our Irish sales invoices. We are in the business of servicing systems, not exporting goods.

What should we be doing in the following examples:
1. Service systems in Ireland, but invoicing the customer in the UK.
2. Service systems in Ireland, but invoicing the customer in Ireland.

Many thanks in advance.

[Poldenacc]

Really depends what services you are providing, but services tend to be subject to VAT where they are performed. I would therefore suggest that where the customer is located is generally irrelevant, it is more important to consider where the services is provided.

Having said that, there is always an exception to the rule, but the above is the general rule.

Hope that helps.

[David Griffiths]

Really depends what services you are providing, but services tend to be subject to VAT where they are performed. I would therefore suggest that where the customer is located is generally irrelevant, it is more important to consider where the services is provided.

Having said that, there is always an exception to the rule, but the above is the general rule.

Hope that helps.

I'd suggest that it's the other way round because of the changes introduced in The VAT Package and which took effect from 1 January this year. Subject to certain exceptions, for B2B supplies to a customer in a different EU jurisdiction services are provided where the buyer belongs, not where they are performed. The reverse charge provisions then apply if there is a cross border transaction.

For example, a company performing work either in or out of the EU for another UK company will charge standard rate VAT

I don't specialise in VAT, but there is plenty of material out there about the new regulations

[Poldenacc]

Can the op confirm what services are provided and how they are provided.

I had assumed that this was servicing systems that were integral to the building - I can see that this is an assumption on my part and the advice could differ if this isn't the case.

Also confirm whether your customers are businesses or consumers please.

Thanks

[David Richards]

I wonder if anyone could shed any light of vat rates for me. I've spent a considerable amount of time reading up on Irish & Uk vat rules and have managed to confuse myself.

We are currently registered for VAT in Ireland and UK, and are UK based. I'm trying to clarify whether our current approach is correct, in particular whether we should be charging UK or Irish VAT on our Irish sales invoices. We are in the business of servicing systems, not exporting goods.

What should we be doing in the following examples:
1. Service systems in Ireland, but invoicing the customer in the UK.
2. Service systems in Ireland, but invoicing the customer in Ireland.

Many thanks in advance.As others have noted, the VAT rules determining the 'place of supply' for transactions like this changed on 1 January 2010. Assuming that it's a business-to-business transaction, the place of supply is now generally where the customer belongs - rather than where the service is performed.

For the benefit of others; the general rule would suggest that in scenario 1, a UK business would charge UK VAT - and in scenario 2, a UK business would not charge VAT (the customer would account for Reverse Charge VAT in Ireland).

VAT Notice 741A (http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD1_029955&propertyType=document) has all the details - you should check this to see if the services you supply are an exception to general rule. Services relating to land (http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD1_029955&propertyType=document#P236_31282) are an exception to the general rule. You said you were also VAT-registered in Ireland, but not based there. And you would only need to register for VAT in Ireland if you met the criteria set by Revenue (http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vat/leaflets/vat-registration-foreign-traders.html).

So before anyone can give further advice, I think you'd need to explain a bit more about the service you provide and why you are VAT-registered in Ireland.