Flat rate "Single Purchase" and Amazon Marketplace

[penx]

I am on the flat rate scheme and want to purchase a bundle of computer hardware coming to more than £2000 from Amazon then claim back the VAT.

The items are sold by different Amazon marketplace sellers. I'm making a single credit card transaction for a single order, but have multiple VAT invoices from each of the sellers.

HMRC's wording is:

"you can reclaim the VAT you have been charged on a single purchase of capital expenditure goods"

HMRC don't say "single invoice" but they also don't define single purchase, so I don't know whether it would apply here. I believe as single transaction would account for a single purchase, but would prefer to get a definite answer. Any advice on this? Would HMRC respond to clarifications like this if I wrote to them?

[northernladuk]

Loads of threads on the same topic below...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=VA...ntractoruk.com

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

You're right, it doesn't say single invoice and pragmatically I've taken that to mean multiple invoices for the same purchase as being acceptable where its clearly from the same supplier and part of the same order. In my case, I bought a laptop and iPad from Apple but was issued two separate issues due them being dispatched separately. But I had proof that it was the same purchase as I had the original purchase order and both invoices referenced this order number.

Your situation seems like even more of a grey area as it depends on who HMRC would consider the supplier to be - is it Amazon or is it the marketplace seller with Amazon simply acting as an intermediary? IMO its the latter which would mean your purchases would be treated as separate as they are from different suppliers, but that is just my opinion. I would speak to your accountant for their guidance on this one.

Worst case scenario is that you take a chance and do claim back the VAT and if HMRC do a compliance check and disagree you'd have to pay them back the VAT + interest, but I'd be surprised if they applied a penalty if you've honestly mis-interpreted the rules.

Is there nowhere else you can source the equipment from? Even if it costs a bit more, you'd at least be able to confidently claim back the VAT without having to worry about potentially repaying it in the future.

[Eirikur]

It says here: https://www.gov.uk/government/public...enditure-goods

items of kitchen equipment (a pizza oven, a fridge and a dishwasher) bought for a restaurant. If all the items are from one supplier at one time, then they count as one purchase of capital expenditure goods. If they are from three different suppliers or at three different times then they will be three purchases and each must be £2,000 or more (inc VAT) to qualify for a reclaim of VAT

As they are different suppliers I don't think you will be able to reclaim VAT, but check with your accountant

[Forbes Young]

I am on the flat rate scheme and want to purchase a bundle of computer hardware coming to more than £2000 from Amazon then claim back the VAT.

The items are sold by different Amazon marketplace sellers. I'm making a single credit card transaction for a single order, but have multiple VAT invoices from each of the sellers.

HMRC's wording is:

"you can reclaim the VAT you have been charged on a single purchase of capital expenditure goods"

HMRC don't say "single invoice" but they also don't define single purchase, so I don't know whether it would apply here. I believe as single transaction would account for a single purchase, but would prefer to get a definite answer. Any advice on this? Would HMRC respond to clarifications like this if I wrote to them?

Just to confirm as I had a conversation with HMRC about this issue just last week. They agreed that multiple items on a single invoice are fine - as long as all of the items actually have VAT on them and are capital in nature.

Be very careful as some sellers on Amazon are not VAT registered and so will not be charging you VAT on the item they sell you. If the excluded items take you below the £2000 limit, you can't then claim back the VAT on the other items either.

[Eirikur]

Just looked up an order I made last year with Amazan, three items from three different suppliers.
The confirmation email mentioned all 3 in separate sections of the same email (with VAT amounts) However each item has its own order number and own invoice

[Contreras]

Just looked up an order I made last year with Amazan, three items from three different suppliers.
The confirmation email mentioned all 3 in separate sections of the same email (with VAT amounts) However each item has its own order number and own invoice

Is it a VAT invoice?

If so, and a single VAT no. is given, then I think it would be reasonable to treat it as a purchase from a single supplier.

If it's not a VAT invoice then you can ask Amazon for this. It's needed strictly for reclaiming the VAT anyway.