While working with companies as a company, it is essential to verify the company’s authenticity and legality. Not doing so can cause a lot of financial loss to you, your employees and your clients.
There are two ways by which you can check if the company you are dealing with is VAT registered or not.
You can either call the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) VAT helpline or go online and use the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES), which the European Commission manages. We will look at checking if the company is VAT registered. But first, let us look at what VAT is.
What is VAT?
When working with a company or organisation that is new to you, you must check if it is VAT registered. VAT is the abbreviation for Value-added tax, and to check if a company is VAT registered or not, it has to have a VAT number.
Every company is provided with a VAT enlistment number. A VAT register number has 15 alphanumeric characters. Companies or organisations in The United Kingdom with a taxable turnover of over £85,000 need to be VAT registered.
The VAT number is required if you have deals between EU nations to confirm that the company is authentic and provides you with the service you need. Getting your company VAT enrolled helps you find suitable billing as well.
How to check if a company is VAT registered in UK?
It is crucial to have your company VAT registered if you have a taxable turnover of over £85,000. Not doing so is unlawful in The United Kingdom.
While making deals between EU nations, you must check if the company you are working with is VAT registered. Checking if the company is VAT registered is pretty easy these days as technology will also help you. There are two ways to do that.
HMRC VAT Helpline
A simple way to ensure that the company you are dealing with is VAT registered is to call Her Majesty Revenue Customs and HMRC VAT Helpline. You can make a call to HM Revenue, and HMRC VAT Helpline between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm throughout the week.
However, calling the helpline does have some issues. It only verifies companies that are located or registered in The U.K. The period during which you can call this helpline is limited to 8:00 am and 8:00 pm to be a time constraint for the firms.
If a business wishes to inquire about VAT beyond this time frame, they will have to wait until a member of the helpline system is available.
Value-added tax (VAT) Information Exchange System(VIES)
The second method to check if a company is VAT verified is to make use of technology and go to the online platform of value-added tax (VAT) Information Exchange System (VIES), which is managed by the European Commission instead of calling the helpline.
You can go to the VIES website, choose from the dropdown menu and give the VAT number that you want to check if it is valid or not. Suppose the provided VAT registration number is valid.
In that case, the website will provide basic information such as the name and registered workplace of the company to which the VAT registration number belongs.
Here are a few other ways to check if a company is VAT registered
- Suppose you are an Entrepreneur or any business person and you do not wish to call the helpline or use the digital platform VIES.
- In that case, you may ask your accountant or agent to check for you if your company or the company you are making a deal with has a valid VAT registration number.
- Another way to check the validity of a VAT registration number is to use the U.K Government website. The U.K Government website will help you check if the VAT registration number is valid in The U.K.
- This website can also be used to check the name and address of the company with a certain VAT registration number.
What is a VAT registration certificate?
As said before, the threshold for being VAT registered is to have a taxable turnover of over £85,000, but of course, we can get our company VAT registered without reaching that limit.
Doing so has several benefits; your business can have a reputation, and you could also save some of your money. After you get your company VAT registered, you get a VAT certificate.
This certification contains some basic information about your company, such as VAT registration number (VRN), which could provide people with information about your company if they try to verify your VRN.
It will have the date of when you got your company VAT registered for other people to know since when you have been in a serious business. The certificate provides information on the bank details, and it has the SIC code, which describes the company’s business activities to people.
Getting a VAT certificate is easy if you have all the required documents and are ready to go through the registration procedure.
If you do not wish to put your time into the process, you can always ask an agent who has enough experience and expertise in this field to get it done for you with all the authentic documents.
Conclusion
Now we have the information about VAT, VAT registration number or VRN, how to check if a company is VAT registered in The U.K, and what a VAT certificate is.
Value-added tax is abbreviated as VAT, and a company is obliged by law that when its taxable turnover is over £85,000, it has to get VAT registered. When you get your company VAT registered, you are provided with a VRN, which, when checked, gives the company’s basic information, such as the name and address of the company.
To check whether a company is VAT registered or not, you can call the HMRC Helpline, check with The U.K Government website, use the digital platform of VIES or ask your accountant to check for you.
The process of getting your company VAT registered also avails you with a certificate that can help you grow your business.
