Is this VAT receipt valid?

[tracycat]

Hi guys,

In a pickle with this one. I have a detailed VAT receipt from Amazon for a purchase that I made with my company. It was my company that purchased it and it was dispatched to my companies registered address but...

My company name isn't on the Invoice just my name and the address of the company. I have a bank record that clearly shows that the company paid for it from it's bank account.

Just wondering if I'm screwed on this one or if that might be enough?

 

[The Byre]

Assuming this is a verifiable company purchase, it matters little what is put on the invoice. I often buy stuff for our company at various outlets and they just put my name on the invoice, or I buy building materials, using my private credit card. As long as it is for proper company expenditure, it can say Mickey Mouse on the invoice.

 

[tracycat]

Wow that surprises me. I mean like i say mines is made out to me (personal name) followed by company address without a company name. It's a genuine company purchase but in terms of verifiable, the evidence i have would be the bank entry from the companies account paying for it?

Do you think the vatman would consider that verified?

And thanks for answering!

 

[The Byre]

HMRC do not get to see anything other than the figures you enter into your VAT account and of course, they get to see everything in the case of an audit. For that reason, we always itemise all receipts, i.e. the entry has a short description, such as 'Flight to Amsterdam to attend trade-fair.' or 'Hotel for Trade-Fair'. The flight may be in my name, the hotel will be booked in my name, but the purpose of the visit is purely business and has to be paid for by the company.

I bought an air-impact wrench for our workshop at Lidl. I did so as part of my private shopping, so the receipt from Lidl was put into the books, to the value of that one tool. There is no name whatsoever on a Lidl receipt.

Think about this logically - if you booked a family holiday in the Bahamas, but did so completely in the name of your company and tried to pass that one off, you could get into really deep trouble. The name on the invoice is not what counts, but the nature and purpose of the expenditure.

 

[tracycat]

I see your point *hugs* thanks for the help - it seems obvious now when you mention the receipts, for some reason I thought it might be different when I read my invoice from Amazon.

Thanks that's a bit of a relief actually as it was a large purchase (1k)

 

[paulears]

I used to worry about this, but when I had a session with HMRC, at my accountants - their questions were all on X date, you bought Z - what was this for. I think the month in question was at pantomime time (part of what we do) and the till receipts for purchases were a few thousand, which no doubt did appear a little unusual - especially when it said things like M&S 24 pairs lady's white pants, then makeup items, then loads of paracetamol, ibuprofen, ladies sanitary items, and other totally bizarre stuff. She eventually understood that all this really was perfectly legitimate business expenditure. The three hundred quid a week to a Russian Dwarf took a little more explanation, but even that was accepted - till receipts and personal receipts with scribbled notes worked fine.

 

[Sam Drury]

If you are reclaiming VAT the receipt/invoice should have the suppliers VAT number on theit, as you can not reclaim VAT if they have not paid VAT in the first place. There are a lot of sellers on Amazon who are not VAT registered so best to check first.

 

[lesvatadvice]

There is no obligation for a retailer to show the purchaser's name and address on an invoice (e.g: till roll) as long as the total value is less than £250.
And, where an employee/director/etc makes purchases on behalf of the business, the invoice is usually not in the business' name.
So, in either case, input tax is still allowable.