Making buyers' VAT numbers available to sellers

This applies only where buyer and seller are in different states of the EU.

Here's an introduction to the complexities of VAT on invoices where the buyer and seller are in different states of the EU.

When I do work for a seller based in the UK, as I am, then my invoice has to include 20% VAT. If my total bill id £100 then my profit on this is £83.33 and I have to pay £16.67 to the UK government.

Let's say I have just completed some work for my seller who is based in Portugal with an agreed price of £100. If I am confident that my buyer is VAT registered, and I know his VAT number, I can raise my invoice for £100 with no VAT payable to the UK government. However if I do not know his VAT number and cannot check it (there’s a website to check the numbers which provides proof that I have checked, that I can use as evidence later if I need to) then I have to raise the invoice at £83.33 plus £16.67 VAT which I have to pay to the government.

So you will see I have a financial interest in knowing what my buyer’s VAT number is! Since anyone in Portugal with a business turnover exceeding about €10,000 has to be registered, I strongly expect that all business buyers are in fact registered – and I would have expected them to provide this number to PPH.

I think what I am really asking for is for VAT registration numbers to be made available to a seller who undertakes work for a buyer. If it could be made available earlier, at the proposal stage, that would be even better.

Making buyers' VAT numbers available to sellers

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