UK VAT not charged if I supply Irish VAT number?

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cambazola

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I've received a quote for equipment from a UK supplier, which states "VAT extra, at 17.5%. If you send your VAT number with your purchase order, then no VAT."
Does anyone know whether the bit about not being charged VAT still apply to me/my company (in Ireland, with an Irish VAT number), or is it just for UK companies?
 
If you are registered for VAT and are buying from UK (or any EU country) you can get the goods without VAT. You then account for the VAT on your VAT3 form. Its cash flow positive to you, but you dont avoid the liability. They are also (as you are) able to verify the VAT reg number from this

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My understanding is that an Irish VAT registered entity will not pay vat to a UK VAT registered entity. They wil issue an invoice with zero percent VAT. As you're not paying it in the first instance, it doesn't appear on a VAT 3 form. At least this was the advice I got from an accountant a few years ago.

Imperator
 
VAT is a most complicated tax. If VAT is due on a sale that an EU registered person is making to you, if you are VAT registered, the seller can supply it exclusive of VAT. At the other side, you as a regsitered VAT person, have to account for it on your VAT return, and can also get a deduction for it. The assumption is that the supplier oterwise would have to apply VAT, as they would do to say somebody that was not VAT registered; or was registered in their own country. This is saying nothing else.
 
So, they state in their UK VAT return that the VAT charge of £x was not collected from me, and my company states in its Irish VAT return that we received goods which would normally have had a UK VAT charge of £x but that we didn't pay it...?
 
Well in the Irish context if I was making a supply to an EU Registered person - where I would otherwise have charged VAT - this is included in the VAT 3 under E1 or E2. Your name isnt there .. but I would be expected to have details of those sales etc where VAT was not charged in the event of a VAT inspection. You do raise a valid point, how in effect is this policed.. and thats another matter. Meanwhile at the other side, the recipient accounts for VAT that I did not charge him and claims a deduction. So in effect it is simply recognising that that the cash effect is neutral and the country where the service is consumed benefits from the VAT.
 
Thanks for your help WizardDr. I'm afraid I'm still confused, but I think that's really down to my lack of understanding of the relevant forms/procedures since I don't normally deal with them. I feel a call to my company's finance dept coming on, to ask which they'd prefer me to do: not give VAT number and pay VAT as normal, or give VAT number, pay no VAT and...[do whatever else]???
 
Any VAT registered company can reclaim VAT paid in any European country under the sixth directive. The problem is you must submit your refund claim to the relevant tax authority, which is real pain.

As part of the single European market an alternative was introduced to reduce this administrative burden, whereby a company with a valid vat registration number no longer has to pay vat on supplies if it supplies a valid vat number to a supplier in another EU country. It is always better to provide your VAT number so no VAT is levied.

You must still account of the vat on your vat return, to do whatever bookkeeping is done by the vat authorities at a European level.

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