Do I have to pay if I cannot be given a receipt?

marcusjclifford

Hi All,
I travel for business and my company insists on receipts for absolutely all expenses charged.

I needed something for the job (purely for the job - no personal benefit) I was on that I sourced at a reasonable cost, however when I came to pay for this I was told that they were not able to provide a receipt.

What this means is that I am not able to claim this back against the expenses for the job.

I therefore asked for them to invoice me rather than pay then and there and the basically laughed at me.

Very reluctantly I paid.

My question is - legally - do I have to pay for a product or service if a receipt cannot or will not be provided?

Thanks in advance.

lovinituk

No you don't but then don't expect to receive said item or service!

prosaver

pay by card that will be you reciept

bebewoo

Was it something that you could not get elsewhere?
Otherwise why pay them if it meant using your own money?

[Deleted User]

Get them to write a note, sign and date it.. that's what i've always done when travelling for work and buying from a small business that doesn't automatically produce receipts.

HappyMJ

prosaver wrote: »

pay by card that will be you reciept

It's not the VAT receipt the OP would need though.

If the amount paid was small then you can create your own receipt from as much information as you can get together. You should know the traders name and address and hopefully a contact phone number. Type all that up on a computer and if anyone checks by sending a letter to the trader or telephoning the trader then it's going to be difficult for them to deny they supplied whatever it is they supplied. Some sole traders do not provide what most of us would consider an official receipt providing just a printout of what was supplied or even just a hand written receipt from a receipt book. As long as your supplier is registered with HMRC as a sole trader your company shouldn't have any issue reclaiming the cost.

paddyrg

How much are we talking? A fiver? Five hundred?

For a low amount (eg a tube fare, taxi) just write out your own 'petty cash slip' and submit it with your expense claim.

If it's over £100 and both parties are VAT registered it's a bigger deal, but as long as it's an occasional/one-off it shouldn't be a shocker.

bris

If they are VAT registered (doubtful as they seem like a mickey mouse set up) then by law they must provide a VAT receipt within 30 days.


If not then receipts are not a legal obligation.


As for the original question you don't need to pay unless they provided the goods or services, if so then yes you do still need to pay.

beeg0d

bris wrote: »

If they are VAT registered (doubtful as they seem like a mickey mouse set up) then by law they must provide a VAT receipt within 30 days.

Im pretty sure the requirement to provide a VAT receipt is only a legal requirement if a VAT receipt is requested (check) AND the purchacr is also VAT registered (not quite check as they it seams the op was purchacing as an indivudial (who would then be adding it to their expences for reimbersment)).

daytona0

marcusjclifford wrote: »

I therefore asked for them to invoice me rather than pay then and there and the basically laughed at me.

It really depends on the value of the item.

Low value item and/or at a small business then that's worthy of a giggle

(it might even make the Christmas funny story collection )

Mirth aside, just make your own receipt for a low value item! Without knowing the cost we can't fully advise.

marcusjclifford

Thanks everyone for your replies.

The issue I had was that it was for a service provided, and as such I had nothing to physically show for it.

Writing my own receipt is a no-go with my company, as this would be wide open to abuse.

It was the fact they wouldn't give any form of evidence that I had paid for the service was my main issue, so as well as the claiming on expenses part, they could (I presume) claim that I had not paid and therefore in the future request the money again.

I should, I guess have asked if they would be able to provide a receipt before engaging with them for the service, but I just presumed everyone would be able and willing to provide a receipt.