Vat exempt?

Our man in Havana

Are local authourities exempt from vat?
I did a job for a county council and they said that they want an invoice excluding vat. They claim that they don't pay vat. Is this correct?

Victor

I'm sure they know the procedure, but would wonder. Get them to point out where it says this in law.

Certainly LAs don't charge VAT.

SouperComputer

I know some charites get VAT relief at source, maybe give revenue a call with and have their VAT number handy?

kluivert

Am near sure that if you are vat registered then you must charge the vat rate applied to you unless it is the provision of goods or services to another EU member where the rate of 0% will apply.

Our man in Havana

Rang the tax man who told me they must pay the VAT. They cannot charge VAT.

slave1

if they are exempt then they must supply you with a copy of their VAT exemption form, theres a number on it that you will quote on your invoice

Victor

kluivert wrote:

Am near sure that if you are vat registered then you must charge the vat rate applied to you unless it is the provision of goods or services to another EU member where the rate of 0% will apply.

There are some very specific cases where you don't charge VAT, e.g. some multinationals export all their production and operate under a special regime where they are not sharged VAT, rather than charge and reclaim.

But they do need to have the paperwork in order.