Okay, this is a new one for me | VAT purchase | China, Germany & UK

[sosnazzy]

Hi all,

I have a VAT-registered company here in the United Kingdom.

I purchased an item on Amazon from a third-party seller. The item cost me £165.95.

When it came to doing my bookkeeping I realised I didn't have an invoice for the purchase, so I contacted the seller for one.

They sent me a VAT invoice with 19% VAT rate showing on it. So the breakdown on the invoice was;

• Net price £139.45
• VAT @ 19% £26.50
• Total £165.95

When I queried this, I discovered the following information;

• The seller's business address as listed on Amazon is in China
• The seller operates with a GB VAT number (GB295252483)
• The seller allegedly operates from Germany (I have seen no evidence to support this claim), hence the 19% VAT rate showing on the invoice. These are his words to me.

I might also add that the item arrived with Amazon's one-day Prime delivery, so the item was stored in the UK.

There is not one iota of a mention of Germany or a German VAT (MwSt?) number on the invoice.

Is the seller right or wrong? What is the correct way to account for this invoice? It all seems a bit complex.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Hi all,

I have a VAT-registered company here in the United Kingdom.

I purchased an item on Amazon from a third-party seller. The item cost me £165.95.

When it came to doing my bookkeeping I realised I didn't have an invoice for the purchase, so I contacted the seller for one.

They sent me a VAT invoice with 19% VAT rate showing on it. So the breakdown on the invoice was;

• Net price £139.45
• VAT @ 19% £26.50
• Total £165.95

When I queried this, I discovered the following information;

• The seller's business address as listed on Amazon is in China
• The seller operates with a GB VAT number (GB295252483)
• The seller allegedly operates from Germany (I have seen no evidence to support this claim), hence the 19% VAT rate showing on the invoice. These are his words to me.

I might also add that the item arrived with Amazon's one-day Prime delivery, so the item was stored in the UK.

There is not one iota of a mention of Germany or a German VAT (MwSt?) number on the invoice.

Is the seller right or wrong? What is the correct way to account for this invoice? It all seems a bit complex.

If he has a UK VAT number & the item was fulfilled out of UK Fulfilment centres, he should be applying/displaying UK VAT on his invoices ...but just becuase it was prime next day delivery does not mean it was stored/fulfilled from the UK (I sell on Amazon.de ...my listings show the prime badge, but all my products are stored in the UK - so perhaps Amazon are doing some wheeze to get around this)

But regardless...good luck with trying to get a resolution...the seller sounds dodgy & Amazon don't want to get involved with pesky VAT queries...they'll say contact the seller!

 

[Socio South West]

Put it through your books as it has been invoiced... claim the VAT back.... carry on.
Amazon have got their cut from the payment so they aren't going to be interested.

When your VAT inspection comes round next time, ask the VAT inspector about it.... It gives them something to justify their visit and will probably save you a lot more in VAT to be paid if they have to start digging to find something else wrong.

 

[sarky]

Search for "VIES VAT number validation" and you can enter the VAT number there. It is a valid number, and like Socio South West says, claim the VAT back. You got yourself a discount!

 

[Mister B]

If he has issued you an invoice using a GB VAT number, then surely the rate of VAT applied has to be 20%, irrespective of him being (alledgedly,) based in German.

I would throw it back at him and ask for the correct invoice. If he doesn't like it, report him to Amazon & the VAT man.