A friend of mine has the following VAT problem:

Before I ring the VAT helpline on Monday, I thought I might ask for
opinions here ...

I purchased a Canon f4L 300mm IS lens for £1089.90 from Amazon.co.uk.
Since they are a reputable UK retailer, I expected a VAT receipt to
allow me to reclaim the VAT. Unfortunately, the receipt supplied just
shows VAT as "blank". I have asked them for a new one, but no response
so far.

The lens was actually supplied by their "partner" called
SimplyElectronics, based on the Isle of Man. Their website shows the
same lens as costing £949.95 i.e. pretty much ex-VAT for a company
being outside of the UK.

To me, it looks like Amazon have charged and pocketed the VAT at my
expense.

Any comments, or advice?

Thanks,
Debs
--

Debbie gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

I purchased a Canon f4L 300mm IS lens for £1089.90 from Amazon.co.uk.
Since they are a reputable UK retailer, I expected a VAT receipt to
allow me to reclaim the VAT. Unfortunately, the receipt supplied just
shows VAT as "blank". I have asked them for a new one, but no response
so far.

The lens was actually supplied by their "partner" called
SimplyElectronics, based on the Isle of Man. Their website shows the
same lens as costing £949.95 i.e. pretty much ex-VAT for a company being
outside of the UK.

Hold on a mo - did you buy it FROM Amazon or FROM SimplyElectronics on
the IoM, who just happened to be using Amazon as a shop window?

If the latter, then Amazon's got nothing to do with it.

Debbie wrote:

A friend of mine has the following VAT problem:

Before I ring the VAT helpline on Monday, I thought I might ask for
opinions here ...

I purchased a Canon f4L 300mm IS lens for £1089.90 from Amazon.co.uk.
Since they are a reputable UK retailer, I expected a VAT receipt to
allow me to reclaim the VAT. Unfortunately, the receipt supplied just
shows VAT as "blank". I have asked them for a new one, but no response
so far.

The lens was actually supplied by their "partner" called
SimplyElectronics, based on the Isle of Man. Their website shows the
same lens as costing £949.95 i.e. pretty much ex-VAT for a company
being outside of the UK.

To me, it looks like Amazon have charged and pocketed the VAT at my
expense.

Any comments, or advice?

The Isle of Man is part of the UK for VAT purposes, so they should still be
charging you VAT.

On 7 June, 12:32, Adrian wrote:

Hold on a mo - did you buy it FROM Amazon or FROM SimplyElectronics on
the IoM, who just happened to be using Amazon as a shop window?

If the latter, then Amazon's got nothing to do with it.

He got it from a page like this:
http://tinyurl.com/mqzzbt

Debs
--

Debbie gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

Hold on a mo - did you buy it FROM Amazon or FROM SimplyElectronics on
the IoM, who just happened to be using Amazon as a shop window?

If the latter, then Amazon's got nothing to do with it.

He got it from a page like this:
http://tinyurl.com/mqzzbt

As I suspected. Amazon's got nothing to do with it.

Debbie wrote:
A friend of mine has the following VAT problem:

Before I ring the VAT helpline on Monday, I thought I might ask for
opinions here ...

I purchased a Canon f4L 300mm IS lens for £1089.90 from Amazon.co.uk.
Since they are a reputable UK retailer, I expected a VAT receipt to
allow me to reclaim the VAT. Unfortunately, the receipt supplied just
shows VAT as "blank". I have asked them for a new one, but no response
so far.

The lens was actually supplied by their "partner" called
SimplyElectronics, based on the Isle of Man. Their website shows the
same lens as costing £949.95 i.e. pretty much ex-VAT for a company
being outside of the UK.

To me, it looks like Amazon have charged and pocketed the VAT at my
expense.

Any comments, or advice?

Thanks,
Debs

Are you able to reclaim the VAT? If not then it makes no difference, if you
can then does the amazon invoice show their vat number? if so then just
calculate the vat amount and input that to your accounts for vat purposes,
if the amazon invoice does not show their vat number then start asking
amazon to supply a bill showing their vat number and the amount of vat
charged.

"Mrcheerful" gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

Are you able to reclaim the VAT? If not then it makes no difference, if
you can then does the amazon invoice show their vat number? if so then
just calculate the vat amount and input that to your accounts for vat
purposes, if the amazon invoice does not show their vat number then
start asking amazon to supply a bill showing their vat number and the
amount of vat charged.

She didn't buy it from Amazon. She bought it from a company on the IoM.

Adrian wrote:
"Mrcheerful" gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

Are you able to reclaim the VAT? If not then it makes no
difference, if you can then does the amazon invoice show their vat
number? if so then just calculate the vat amount and input that to
your accounts for vat purposes, if the amazon invoice does not show
their vat number then start asking amazon to supply a bill showing
their vat number and the amount of vat charged.

She didn't buy it from Amazon. She bought it from a company on the
IoM.

Then whichever company supplies the bill is the relevant one to look at, if
the OP is not vat registered then it all makes no odds anyway.

"Debbie" wrote in message
...
A friend of mine has the following VAT problem:

Before I ring the VAT helpline on Monday, I thought I might ask for
opinions here ...

I purchased a Canon f4L 300mm IS lens for £1089.90 from Amazon.co.uk.
Since they are a reputable UK retailer, I expected a VAT receipt to
allow me to reclaim the VAT. Unfortunately, the receipt supplied just
shows VAT as "blank". I have asked them for a new one, but no response
so far.

The lens was actually supplied by their "partner" called
SimplyElectronics, based on the Isle of Man. Their website shows the
same lens as costing £949.95 i.e. pretty much ex-VAT for a company
being outside of the UK.

To me, it looks like Amazon have charged and pocketed the VAT at my
expense.

Any comments, or advice?

Thanks,
Debs
--

If the op has stated she wants to claim the VAT back WHY are posters saying
only matters if the op is VAT registered. Why would she say she wants to
claim it back if she is NOT registered.

Tom E wrote:
"Debbie" wrote in message
...
A friend of mine has the following VAT problem:

Before I ring the VAT helpline on Monday, I thought I might ask for
opinions here ...

I purchased a Canon f4L 300mm IS lens for £1089.90 from Amazon.co.uk.
Since they are a reputable UK retailer, I expected a VAT receipt to
allow me to reclaim the VAT. Unfortunately, the receipt supplied just
shows VAT as "blank". I have asked them for a new one, but no response
so far.

The lens was actually supplied by their "partner" called
SimplyElectronics, based on the Isle of Man. Their website shows the
same lens as costing £949.95 i.e. pretty much ex-VAT for a company
being outside of the UK.

To me, it looks like Amazon have charged and pocketed the VAT at my
expense.

Any comments, or advice?

Thanks,
Debs

If the op has stated she wants to claim the VAT back WHY are posters saying
only matters if the op is VAT registered. Why would she say she wants to
claim it back if she is NOT registered.

I did not see the OP say that he/she was trying to claim anything back, she
will not be able to reclaim vat unless she is registered for vat. Therefore
if she is not vat registered then it does not matter whether she gets a vat
bill or not, she has just paid a total price, the one she agreed to before
purchase. Or am I completely missing the actual question?