Does a vat exempt sole trader pay VAT when buying a piece of equipment from Sweden?

G

gbh2930

Registered User
Messages
46
When buying/importing a piece of equipment from Sweden, should a vat exempt sole trader pay Swedish VAT ?
 
Why are you Vat exempt?

I suspect that you mean that you are not registered for VAT which is completely different.

If you are registered for VAT, you can provide your VAT number to the Swedish company and they should not charge you VAT.

If you have a VAT exemption certificate, which is unlikely, you can provide a copy to the Swedish company, and they should not charge you VAT.

If you are not registered and not exempt, they must charge you VAT.
 
Thanks. I'm querying on behalf of someone else who is a sole trader medical practitioner, they are VAT exempt because of their profession. Theres confusion about are they supposed to pay VAT if they import equipment from Sweden.
 
I don't think that they are VAT exempt.

They do not have to charge VAT. They do not have register for VAT. And they can't reclaim VAT which they pay.

Brendan
 
If the business imports goods worth €41,000 or more in a year it MUST register for VAT in Ireland and quote the Irish VAT number to the Swedish supplier. The Swedish supplier then zero rates the supply and the Irish business charges itself the VAT (at 23%) and pays it over to the Revenue.

If the imports are not going to reach €41k, there is no obligation to register for Irish VAT and instead they will be charged Swedish VAT which will not be recoverable.
 
Does a vat exempt sole trader pay VAT when buying a piece of equipment from S...

I'd be with Nige on this one.

Unless the value of the goods being imported exceed €41k they pay the Swedish VAT.

Sometimes there is confusion between VAT exempt ie a doctor, VATable but not register a hairdresser and VATable but holding an exemption certificate S56b.
 
To complicate matters:-
The service determines whether it is exempt or not, not the profession.

Certain medical supplies and services provided by ordinary everyday doctors are VATable supplies, but IIRC there aren't that many.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top