Jay Cooke

There is more than one "reverse charge" in VAT legislation, think of it like a car, there are petrol cars, electric cars and diesel cars, they are all cars but they are all slightly different in how they work from each other. The reverse charge regarding services from UK to EU or rest of the world, that relates to certain services where the place of supply is shifted to the customer so as to avoid the seller having to register for VAT in the customers Country. The "domestic reverse charge" relates to a UK to UK supply (hence domestic, meaning a UK to UK supply) of certain construction related services, the main trigger is the supplies must fall under CIS (Construction Industry Scheme). So if what you do/sell is not a CIS supply then the domestic reverse charge does not apply to you and you charge UK VAT to your UK customer as normal. But if what you do does fall under CIS, then potentially your sale comes under this domestic reverse charge, it is not as simple as your customer just telling you what to do, you need to get this right as it is you who has to get the VAT treatment right. Very useful flowchart here from HMRC, follow each step to determine if what you do is or is not eligible for domestic reverse charge : https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F636eaebed3bf7f4a4da3cfc2%2FSuppliers_flowchart_-_VAT_domestic_reverse_charge_for_building_and_construction_services.odt&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK Further detailed guidance here : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-domestic-reverse-charge-for-building-and-construction-services It may be that some jobs you do fall under CIS and domestic reverse charge applies and some other jobs you do, do not fall under CIS/reverse charge. These rules work the other way to, so if you are buy in sub contractor work and that work falls under CIS, then the sub contractor may not charge VAT to you and instead you must "reverse charge", which is where you treat the purchase as a both a purchase but also as a sale to yourself, basically shifting the VAT liability to the customer not the seller.

The change of company address you will make via your government gateway. Login and select the "Change registration details" option. You access your postponed import VAT statements, C79's and CDS enrolment via the same login/gateway. If you cannot access your government gateway then you will need to call the HMRC VAT IT Helpline on 0300 200 3701 or if outside UK +44 2920 501 261

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-and-customs-brief-2-2022-vat-early-termination-fees-and-compensation-payments/revenue-and-customs-brief-2-2022-vat-early-termination-fees-and-compensation-payments It may be that the supplier is taking a view that the £30 payment is not an ex-gratia payment but is a payment connected to the original supply (of domestic electricity) and so they are adjusting your bill and charging reduced rate VAT. In your post you state the VAT charge means you are paying part of the the "fine". So is it a fine or compensation? Fines are usually issued by a Court or authority (like HMRC or Council) and paid by the person who made the error, whereas here, the supplier is paying you £30 and perhaps on the basis it is compensation and if so, then the above link explains the logic as to why the £30 might be inclusive of VAT. In other words, the £30 is being treated as VAT inclusive by the supplier. Whether or not the £30 should be VATable will depend on the legislation you are referring to about failing to meet performance standards. It's a matter between you and the supplier as HMRC do not have sight of your energy contract or the legislation you refer to and so cannot know what basis the £30 compensation is issued.

HMRC Admin 2 - This current issue of numbers not being recognised has been on-going for about 6 months now, it should now be a priority as taxpayers can't sell on online platforms as those platforms use HMRC's checker to validate traders. What is really annoying is that there are a couple of (free) third party websites that you can check VAT number on and they are accurate, they can even show the day a VAT number has been issued way before the trader receives their letter from HMRC, these third parties use the same API bridging as HMRC does, if the third parties can access HMRC databases correctly, why can't HMRC access its own database? I'm a registered user of the HMRC Developer Hub and am working on my own third party web based browser to access HMRC's databases and at a beta test stage it is working perfectly. So the issue is internally within HMRC that this problem persists.

The VAT certificate can be downloaded through the taxpayers government gateway/VAT portal. The taxpayer must have a government gateway for VAT purposes and the agent cannot use the taxpayers gateway, the agent must use their own agent gateway (ASA) and link to the taxpayers gateway, then the agent can see the VAT certificate of their client.

You may also want to check Companies House https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company If the fraudsters have a VAT number associated to your home address then there is a big chance that the fraudsters have also registered a company at your address as HMRC check Companies House when issuing VAT numbers and as long as the address on Companies House is a real address (even if it is some random persons house), then HMRC will issue a VAT number no questions asked. You can file a report to Companies House to have your address removed, link here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-a-company-using-your-personal-details-without-your-permission I'd also write to HMRC or use their online fraud report here https://www.gov.uk/report-tax-fraud and the reason to do this in writing is to ensure you have some sort of audit trail/evidence that you reported it, then if there are any VAT debts incurred by the fraudsters or other legal issues, you've formally reported the fraud to HMRC via post and online, you have proof and if HMRC can't be bothered to act then it at least protects you from debt collectors or legal actions.

Once a business deregisters for VAT, there is a very small window (weeks) where the business can re-register and retain the VAT number, after that window closes, if a business wants to register for VAT again, it just applies for VAT like anyone else and a new VAT number will be issued. It is not clear whether you are registering for VAT shortly after deregistering for VAT or if there has been a passing of time since you were last registered. HMRC generally indicate a 40 working day turnaround for VAT registrations but can be quicker sometimes.

Try this email - vatchangeofcircs@hmrc.gov.uk which is the variations team, their number is 0300 322 7872 You can also try the VAT registrations team here 0300 322 7870 I think this can only be resolved by calling the numbers and holding on until you speak to someone who can then progress the matter. You will have to keep calling until this can be resolved. No harm in writing to HMRC a second time but I agree that time is moving onwards and the issue will continue to escalate until it is resolved. Useful guidance on the law relating to when HMRC can accept a request to change the VAT registration date. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-registration-manual/vatreg25350 The 10th November 2023 is an unusual date for a tax/financial year end/start, are you an overseas business? This will go one of two ways. Either HMRC will accept your error and will change the date of registration, then you can file the Qtr1 and Qtr2 returns, which will be late but you can then appeal those via your online gateway with the reason being change of registration date, etc.....or HMRC will reject your request to change the date and your business will be liable for output tax on sales from November 2022 and you'll have to file that first long period VAT return. HMRC Admin. Apart from the numbers I have posted, is there a better number that this frustrated taxpayer can call?

When deregistering for VAT, if you have stocks or assets over £5,000 in value, then you are required to declare output tax on those stocks/assets at time of deregistration. This rule is designed to stop people registering for VAT solely to reclaim VAT and then deregistering. For example, if you spent more than £5,000 buying furniture, white goods and furnishings, new kitchen, hot tub and similar, then you may be required to declare output tax on these when deregistering. You mention depreciating assets, an inflatable hot tub from Argos for £300 is going to have a different valuation treatment to a 6 person installed hot tub with gazebo covering. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-70011-cancelling-your-registration/vat-notice-70011-cancelling-your-registration#section-7 Also worth reading, if the value of the refurbishment/capital works exceeds £250,000 (Capital Goods Scheme) then additional input tax may be due back to HMRC, depends on the property (ie, was it an old barn converted into a FHL or was it an existing cottage you have given a lick of paint to) and also what planning it has (ie, is the property only to be used for holiday lets and not residential use or is it an ordinary house which is being used for holiday lets but could switch back to full time occupation without changing of use approval from the Council). https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-supply-and-consideration/vatsc03360