How to claim VAT paid to EU

MEM62

b_Gaff wrote: »

I have tried this but they said no they cannot issue another invoice/amended invoice

If Spanish rules deem them liable for VAT in Spain then their response is correct.

seatbeltnoob

Its a grey area, yes it's possible to technically do it, you just refund the original order and re-invoice them without the VAT.


Normally the seller will be provided the vat number on order and they'd check the vat number on vies. Confirm it and remove the VAT.


The trouble arises because VIES cannot tell you from which date the VAT number was valid, only that it is valid today. So it cant be used to backdating claims.


It's at the sellers discretion to accept a scan of your "vat certificate" to get your vat start date to authenticate your claim. But the vat certificate is just a html web page that can be doctored easily.

seatbeltnoob

MEM62 wrote: »

If Spanish rules deem them liable for VAT in Spain then their response is correct.

It doesn't matter whether the spanish charge VAT on it or not. what matters is VAT registered businesses buying and selling to one another across member states zero rate all VAT.


OP can go ask for that refund, but if the order is complete, bill paid, order received. Then they are at the mercy of their suppliers. The supplier would potentially be taking a risk of getting themselves in hot water by refunding and re-invoicing.

martindow

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

I had to buy supplies for a client as I was registering for VAT. I didn't have my VAT number to hand at the time of placing my order. tried to claim back this way for goods mailed to me, and the dutch tax autorities just ignored my request twice, no reply.


I did ask the seller to re-invoice me, despite being a repeat customer for 2 years, the company wouldn't re-invoice me. They treated me like I was asking them to do VAT fraud, I showed my VAT registrations documents and showed them that my VAT registration started before my order date. Just didn't receive the VAT number in time.



They were hell to deal with generally, that should have been my warning sign they have bad customer service.

I think they were correct. You need to have a valid UK VAT number at the time of ordering. As you didn't have this, they charged local VAT.

bris

martindow wrote: »

I think they were correct. You need to have a valid UK VAT number at the time of ordering. As you didn't have this, they charged local VAT.

This
Without a valid UK VAT number they have to charge Spanish VAT which they pass on to their VAT man. You have no way to claim this back.


With a Valid UK number you don't pay any VAT and it becomes a paper transaction on your UK VAT return in the goods purchased from EU members states section.