Non-UK resident with UK Ltd selling on Amazon FBA - DIY VAT registration or use service?

[The Well Frog]

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As a non-resident (NETP) who has set up a UK LTD for the purpose of e-commerce on Amazon FBA, I need to VAT register immediately.

or better to use a professional service? How about ongoing VAT returns? No sales currently and will be expected very slow sales for the next 6 months .

Questions:

1. Anyone done NETP VAT registration themselves? How hard was it?
2. Any recommendations for budget-friendly VAT services?
3. For those doing minimal sales - are you self-filing quarterly returns?

Product will be imported from China if that matters.

Thanks

 

[FreddyG]

If you are living/working outside the UK and your UK company has no staff or have its own business premises within the UK, you are probably not able to set up as an NETP and do not have to have a VAT number.

This website gives and outline https://www.rossmartin.co.uk/vat/985-vat-restriction-of-non-established-taxable-persons and this is from HMRC https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-registration-manual/vatreg37150

We registered via our accountants back in about 49BC. VAT, PAYE and other simple bookkeeping tasks are in-house.

Which country are you in?

 

[Customs Geek]

I would disagree slightly with Freddy G interpretation of the HMRC guidance published in the link he provided.
If you have a UK registered business but no premises or personnel based in the UK but making taxable supplies in the UK then you are a Non established taxable person-NETP.

Having a UK Ltd does not make you established for VAT purposes so you would still be a NETP.

This was a common misconception with many overseas persons thinking that if they had a UK Ltd the VAT registration threshold would apply meaning they didn’t need to register for VAT until they reached that threshold. As a consequence the market place must account for VAT on sales by overseas persons. Many companies who registered a UK Ltd to avoid VAT are now finding themselves with big VAT bills from Amazon who had to pay on their behalf.

So you also need to to look at this guidance particularly in relation to goods retailed through on line market places such as Amazon.
www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-in-the-uk-using-online-marketplaces
Look at the section titled ‘Goods that are in the UK at the point of sale’

As the market place charges and accounts for VAT there is generally no requirement to register for VAT If that’s all that you do. If however you are importing goods you will have to pay import VAT but not be able to recover that import VAT unless you are VAT registered.So you if that’s what you do then you may want to register for VAT.


I understand that NETPs cannot apply on line but must use a paper application.
Please also bear in mind that VAT returns must be submitted electronically using software so you need to be able to understand what the UK VAT requirements are in relation to the business you are doing.
If you are not confident you can do this I suggest you use a UK based tax agency to help..

 

[tafhim bg19]

I haven't done VAT registration myself but i know someone who did. You can visit this site names Business Globalizer . They offer solutions to your kinda problems.