VAT when invoicing India from the UK, but fulfilling from India

Question

Should the UK seller charge VAT.

The goods are not being directly exported from the UK
The seller is a UK company and will invoice Indian buyer
The buyer is an Indian Company based in India
The goods will be supplied from an Indian manufacturing site, to the Indian buyer direct.

Will the invoice be enough to be able to zero rate the sale?

Answer

Hi Brigid
This question also came up in February and was answered by HMRC as
If your client’s goods are not imported into, or exported out of the UK, they fall outside of the scope of UK VAT.

Gilio
Export Advisory Solutions Ltd

Answer

Hi Brigid, VAT is a complex subject, and the following is my lay understanding, it is worth seeking professional advice, but essentially as per the other poster, the supply should be outside the scope of UK VAT. The issue of where the goods are supplied from is likely to be irrelevant here, its the location of your customer which is the issue. As India is outside of the EU it is not subject to UK VAT, assuming the supply is B2B. Hope this helps. Regards, Mike

Export Action Plan