International trade

We advise on the VAT implications for clients involved in international trading in goods and services, to ensure they achieve a VAT effective outcome and identify all of their compliance responsibilities.

International trading in services

The international VAT rules for services can bring up many issues for clients to consider. We have expertise in advising on matters arising from cross-border supplies of services. These can include:

• The place of supply of services and the consideration of the reverse-charge procedure.
• Compliance issues such as intra EU invoicing requirements and EC Sales Lists (ESLs).
• The identification of circumstances where VAT should be charged when providing services to non UK customers and where clients need to register and charge local VAT on services deemed to be provided in other countries.
• Electronically-supplied services.
• Guiding businesses in the financial sector on understanding how supplying/receiving international services impacts on their overall VAT recovery position.

International trading in goods

We assist clients involved in intra EU trading in goods to understand the required VAT accounting for intra EU acquisitions and dispatches, and statistical reporting in the form of ESLs and Intrastats.

We also advise clients involved in imports and exports on a range of issues such as the conditions they need to meet in order to zero rate exports, how to account for VAT and duty at import, the range of VAT reliefs available on imports, the benefits of warehousing arrangements and the use of margin scheme accounting.

When advising clients on international VAT issues, we have the advantage of a wide network of contacts in global firms through our association with Nexia.