Reclaiming UK VAT if VAT registered in other EU state.

aramo

I am looking for information on the does and donts of reclaiming VAT charged on goods I buy in the UK which I then export to another EU state where I am registered for VAT. Specifically I deal in PCs and PC parts which I can buy at a good price at UK airports (yes even Dixons) trouble is even though I am VAT registered in Ireland I must pay the VAT at Dixons (airport) and then 'somehow' reclaim it for the UK government.

I have queried the C&E people at T5 about this [the people who give VAT & Duty refunds to departing tourists] and her enlighted reply was that taking the goods to Ireland does not count as export from the UK. Honestly!

I have stumbled across a UK VAT66 form but I have no experiance of using this form and would appricate if anyone who has used it could relate their experance.

Merlin_Accounts

Hi

I'm presuming you are referring to the Republic of Ireland.

According to VAT Notice 66 you cannot reclaim VAT on goods bought for supply in the Republic.

Check this link:-

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageExcise_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000860&propertyType=document

maximillionuk

Aramo - put simply you can't reclaim the VAT from the UK government as you are not registered for VAT in the UK. And, you can only have the items 0 rated to you (as a VAT registered individual in another member state) if the supplier is satisfied that the items are for business use - good luck in satisfying the airport Dixons on that one!. But why not speak to HMRC advice service on 0845 0109000 (I think).

silvercar

If you were registered for VAT in the UK you could do this quite easily. You would pay the VAT to Dixons and reclaim it through your VAT return. It takes about 2 weeks from submission of your VAT return for the refund to land in your bank account.

Your customers then supply you with their VAT number and you don't have to then charge them VAT.

A lot of form filling, but do-able in the business sense.

JasonLVC

The simple answer is for the OP to order the goods from a PC World in the UK using his Irish VAT number and PC world in the UK will zero rate the supply and post the items it out to him in Ireland.

OP cannot register for VAT in the UK unless the OP is making taxable sales in the UK. He is not making any sales in the UK, he is simply buying goods which he then intends to supply on in another country.

I'm guessing the appeal of buying at the airport is that the goods are duty free - but the import duty on PC components is like a few %, you are still liable to UK VAT which is 17.5% or zero rated if the item is dispatched to another VAT registered EU member state.

I'd rather receive goods into Ireland which are duty paid but VAT free rather than duty free and VAT paid anyday. Perhaps the OP needs to look again at their business model.