New VAT Rules for Invoice Numbering and More

Newsletter issue - December 07.

New rules about how to draw up a valid VAT invoice have came into effect on 1 October 2007, without much fanfare from the VAT office.

The biggest change is it is now compulsory to have unique and sequential numbers for your invoices. Most businesses do this anyway, but some restart their numbering every year, which could lead to identically numbered invoices in different years. If you use separate sequences for different customers that's fine as long as each sequence of invoices is separate and unique. You can also continue to use customer prefixes on the invoices, as long as no two customers have the same prefix.

If you use the special Second-hand Margin or the Tour Operators Margin VAT scheme, you need to state which scheme you are using on the face of the invoice. Other changes involve cross-border sales within the EC where the full VAT is not automatically charged to the customer. Where the sale is 'reversed charged', so the seller bears the VAT on the supply, the invoice must state this. Similarly if the sale is VAT exempt or zero-rated because the goods are moving across borders the invoice must make this clear.

The VAT office will operate a twelve-month grace period while these new rules bed-down, before they start to prosecute traders for non-compliance. However you need to plan any changes to your invoicing systems as soon as possible. Ask us if you need further information.

What our clients say about us...

  • "Paul has provided accountancy services to my company for 2 years now. I can recommend Paul very highly; his skills as an accountant are highly detailed and professional and he is always available to provide advice. One aspect of the way Paul works that I greatly appreciate is a preference to meet face to face when there is a detailed conversation to be had. I personally find this more productive and is a benefit of working with a small accountancy firm that you wouldn't get with the large faceless providers."

    ALISTAIR FAIRWEATHER - PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGER, DELIVERING/RESCUING I.T. 7 BUSINESS CHANGE WITH BUDGETS UPTO £50M INC SUPPIER MANAGEMENT

  • "I couldn't ask for more from Paul as an Accountant. Paul has been accountant to Work Relief Charity Recruitment for just over a year now and is proving an invaluable asset. Accurate, knowledgeable, flexible with an emphasis on service delivery, I would recommend Paul's services to any organisation looking for an accounts professional."

    Neil Price - Managing Director at Work Relief Charity Recruitment

  • "Paul was a referral from a family member when I started my business 2 years ago. As this was the first time I had ever run my own company I was totally clueless over the financial side of matters and was worried that I may have made mistakes in any of my accounting. I needn't have worried as after enaging Paul for a set monthly fee he was always there on the end of the phone for all sorts of questions I had and no matter how trivial they were Paul gave me all the information I required and more and did an excellent and painless job at the end of my first year! Couldn't ask for any better to be honest. Just two words - hire him!!!"

    Lee Westrap MBCS - Director - Bulldog IT Services

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Booth & Co  |   The Hermitage  |   15a Shenfield Road  |   Brentwood  |   Essex  |   CM15 8AG        Telephone: 01277 224666    |   Email: info@boothandco.co.uk