Merry Christmas!

http://www.vatlive.com/eu-vat-rules/2015-digital-services-moss/what-are-electronic-services-for-vat/

Also helps.
Not e-services…
Physical goods where the ordering is done by the internet or e-mail
DVDs, CD-ROMs, CDs, memory sticks etc for information, games or books

Not sure I’d say Google is authoritative. ;-)

Yes, physical goods are not covered by this. Are we to remove downloads and go back to mailing CDs?

Source? The impression that I get is that this applies if you trade only with the UK. The moment you trade with the rest of the EU, and with no lower boundary, you are obligated to register with MOSS (and as a side effect you loss UK VAT exemption and this must register that as well). Even if you make two £10 sales in a year (one locally and one to Belgium).

The HMRC site begs to differ. Yes, you have to register for VAT in the UK in order to use MOSS¹, but they suggest that as long as you know where you’re selling to then the UK threshold still applies for UK sales (ie. you register, but pay nothing). You then pay your EU VAT to HMRC via MOSS, who divvy it up and pass it on for you.

If you don’t wish to track where your customers are², then yes – they indicate that the UK threshold won’t apply any more.

Or you use a third-party to sell your goods for you. Again, HMRC state that this will exempt you from all the problems.

As I said before, there’s a handy flowchart on the HMRC website.

¹ You don’t have to register with HMRC for VAT in the UK. The alternative is not to use MOSS, and to register in every EU country that you trade with, however…

² I haven’t bothered to visit the ICO’s site, but several of the less frothing bloggers I’ve seen have stated as fact that the ICO are being clear that tracking your customers’ whereabouts for the purposes of keeping HMRC and MOSS happy doesn’t require registration as a Data Controller under the DPA.

BTW, has anybody here registered for MOSS? Expensive?

BTW, has anybody here registered for MOSS?

I’m going to have to register my wife’s business, fortunately there is no rush:

HMRC website:
To use VAT MOSS you must register by the 10th day of the month following your first digital services supply. So, for example, if you make supplies on 8 January 2015 and want to use the scheme, you must register by 10 February 2015. Your scheme registration will then be back-dated to the date of the first cross-border digital services sale on 8 January.

Expensive?

I think it is free!
So hats of to HMRC it must be costing them a fortune.

p.s. My information is mainly sourced from HMRC website, telephone calls with HMRC & innovation nation website (who have to meetings with government officials and ministers). Interpretations are mine!

The HMRC site begs to differ. Yes, you have to register for VAT in the UK in order to use MOSS1, but they suggest that as long as you know where you’re selling to then the UK threshold still applies for UK sales (ie. you register, but pay nothing). You then pay your EU VAT to HMRC via MOSS, who divvy it up and pass it on for you.

Yes this is also my understanding.