VAT Question & Other legal queries

[Perfect Eye]

Hi there

We are producing a site in Actinic 7 for a client. They have told us that they are not VAT registered so do not bother including vat in the prices of their products - if this is the case do we set up Actinic without any tax bands?

I always thought that generally online sites include tax in their price, as a legal requirement?

Can anyone clear this up for me? If it is the case i can just add a vat band and display vat inclusive prices on site (amending price within actinic e.g adding in price divided by 1.175).

Also - is it a legal requirement to include an address and phone number on a site. I believe it is, but the client isnt comfortable with putting their phone number on the site or receipts.

Any clarity on the above would be great. Thanks a lot.

[Luddite]

Hi David

If your client isn't VAT registered they won't need to include this in their prices - there would be no point as people only generally need to know how much VAT they are paying if they are going to claim it back - which they won't be able to do, because your client isn't VAT registered.

Just untick the box in Business settings I Tax - I think its a simple as that but maybe someone more techie than me can confirm?

As far as the address & phone number thing goes - I don't know what the specific legal requirements are, but I know that under the distance selling directive customers have a right to return their goods, so the address would have to be displayed somewhere.

Legal stuff aside - I think its just bad for business to omit customer service details like this - I wouldn't buy from a website where I couldn't see a postal address and phone number (and not just mobiles and PO boxes either - although I suppose thats better than nothing)

Nick

[Darren B]

I agree with the phone numbers & address bit

I will not buy from comapnies not giving phones numbers and real address, past experiance when a product is faulty has led me not to trust, however i think you will find it is not a legal requirement to give an address

dabs.com (which is one i will never use again) do not give postal address or phone numbers yet somehow they are allowed to display the "internet shopping is save" logo and apparently are a registered company with this scheme

so i am sure there must be no legal requirement, however read up on distance selling regs and see what that has to say?

This is also another reason why i do not sign up for these schemes - you might aswell throw your money out of the window

Cheers
Darren

[cbarling]

You're right. From a very quick look around the dabs site, they aren't providing a physical address, although it might be hidden away somewhere.

Under the Distance Selling Directive, you do have to provide contact details.

Chris
Actinic

[Darren B]

Thats interesting, so how does the IMRG (internet shopping is save) orgination allow there customers not to supply an address??

Just go's to show it's all a buerocratic nightmare

Darren

[jont]

Dabs address is somewhat burried under the Contact Us link from the homepage http://www.dabs.com/uk/contactus/directions/

As for the OP I would be wary of a site claiming not to be VAT registered and not providing any address or phone number - still it will keep Customs & Excise on their toes

[jont]

Hmmm... http://www.dabs.com/uk/help/other/?s...necontacts.htm

[Luddite]

As for the OP I would be wary of a site claiming not to be VAT registered and not providing any address or phone number - still it will keep Customs & Excise on their toes

........but remember that not being VAT registered doesn't automatically make a company dodgy - just means that they are claiming that their annual turnover is less than £60k.

[wjcampbe]

just means that they are claiming that their annual turnover is less than £60k.

and that their goods are not imported - since a VAT number is essential for a TURN number for import clearance.

[magicalwonders]

and that their goods are not imported - since a VAT number is essential for a TURN number for import clearance.

Almost. You can import without being VAT registered, although Bill is correct that a VAT number is required. Sounds contradictory? In practise what happens is that Fedex or UPS (or whoever) will assign you a dummy VAT number if you are not registered. It's totally meaningless but it keeps customs and excise happy!

Myles

[mrs incredible]

vat reg and import

Its called a Psuedo Turn and it is not reqired when importing through Parcelforce and normal postage services.

[wjcampbe]

just as long as the total value of the shipment is under GBP2000.00. - I just wanted the OP to be aware that sales value was not the only reason a VAT registration might be required....

[buspassjohn]

Any company claiming they don't need to be Vat registered and yet paying for a website designer sounds a little bit dodgy, I wonder if the Customs & Revenue Department look in on this forum?

[Spark]

Nochex [payment service provider] don't provide phone details.

The attached site might be helpful:

http://www.bizhelp24.com/it/legal-is...business.shtml

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg...cId=1075384925

Anything and everything you might need to know about the legalities of internet trading.

Hope it helps.

[magicalwonders]

Any company claiming they don't need to be Vat registered and yet paying for a website designer sounds a little bit dodgy

Why? Maybe they're only selling zero rated goods or their business falls outside the scope of VAT. (or they're below the annual threshold) I don't see how a business can be considered dodgy just because they are not registered for VAT.

If a business provides good service and products and deals with any complaints to the satisfaction of the customer, that's good enough for me. I've had plenty of alternative experiences with VAT registered companies, but that doesn't mean that all VAT registered companies are dodgy.

Myles