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Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Message lesstix received off Ebay:
”You are unable to list new items pending evidence of full compliance with your UK VAT obligations.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Which is either a VAT number or evidence of an exemption certificate. OR if he's below the threshold simply telling them you're backing off from selling so there is no need to register.

Those not on stealth. Basically if you intend to run a business properly and you can feel that your business will surpass the grey area of £85k - 110k ish then you should go full on and become VAT registered. It's only a problem if you think you will be stuck in that grey area as you're basically working for the VAT man and not making anything extra for yourself.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Hi i just got the message removed, the main question they asked was if i have ever been VAT registered on ebay before.

They could be possibly targeting people who have stopped paying VAT, however are still over the VAT threshold.

I am no expert, but I am under the Threshold, but still received this message, so was able to state that fact.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Hi INDIE, i am in the exact situation as yourself i too have a VAT number which is at my address which is linked to a toasted acc, Ebay have restricted my account i cannot update listings or add new listings, just want to know how you got on when you did add the VAT number - is the acc still running and did you experience any problems?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I got the message yesterday. Gutted, nearly cried.

I managed to get the block removed today. I am not entirely how long it will last, but its off at the moment. Im reducing sales to bring my threshold down in the meantime

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

And this is why I haven't even bothered selling on the account anymore as I know after a few listings the block will come in to force just as it has with many of you.

What did you photoshop to get the account back ? exemption certificate ? letter from an accountant ? PM please if you don't want to share here.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Would be glad if you would kindly PM me too.
Thanks for all your post throughout. It has been quite an insightful thread.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Busi...t/true#M175147

Something for you all to laugh at.

Some troll is going around sending phake HMRC emails to people.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

The original message regarding VAT I received to my Ebay messages has disappeared???
Thought I must have binned it but nowhere to be found....Anybody any input other than I am losing the plot?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Are you under vat limit ? Or was it over and now under the limit ?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Mine also disappeared before the 30 days were even up, i can verify you are NOT losing the plot, i don't know why it has happened on some accounts and not others though.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

This has happened to me also.

I am still over the threshold by 1.5k

As far as I know I am not blocked yet (haven't tried listing anything, but no additional emails received mentioning blocks). But at the same time ... so weren't many of the other sellers until the first few items were listed, then they got the message when they tried listing again.

I think it's best just to completely abandon the account to bring it back down to near 0. I don't want to start feeding customer service BS to try and get it back, it's out of my comfort zone.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Over VAT limit when got the message and still over the limit. On the account in question most of the sales are between July and Christmas so pretty much nothing has changed.
I have not listed anything since Christmas and got the VAT message about March when everybody else did.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I am of the same feeling as you out of my comfort zone....
I still find it hard to believe none of the "big players" on here the ones who seem to be on every topic have had no input on this matter because it must be affecting everybody.
I would think they are that deeply embedded in Ebay they must have affected accounts with large volumes of sales so how are they dealing with VAT on stealth accounts.
Of course you will have somebody come on and say they have 10 accounts and stop selling at £70000 on them..yeah yeah.
Unless of course there is another similar thread running?

I would only sell upto £50,000 per account not more then that, play it safe.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I agree with 13obby

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Sell...t/true#M408360

MORE sellers that are selling below the threshold being restricted and ebay are having none of it ...

Apparently their VAT department is being run by PwC seems like HMRC have set up camp in ebays offices then.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Ultimately this is nothing to do with Ebay. The Conservative Government control HMRC, and Ebay enforces compliance of HMRC's tax rules.(though ironically HMRC let EBay avoid most UK taxation). In 1979, VAT was 7.5% and the Conservatives who favour indirect taxatiuon like VAT, have raised it in increments to 20%. The have frozen the registration threshold so more businesses are forced to apply it. YOu then neeed to consider are the Tories really a party of small business? Labour might raise taxes if you are earning over 80k PROFIT NOT SALES, but you can be paying VAT well below that profit margin!

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Originally Posted by indielad1010 View Post
As an update, I have put my correct VAT number on my listings. I already have been VAT registered as the tax man has much more wide ranging powers than Ebay (e.g they can repossess your house, and car, send bailiffs to kneecap you etc) However I have used my partners' address on this account to prevent linkage on ebay's robots on the site. Only my trading name matches ,my VAT details which are linked to a toasted account. I sell 1500 items a week so I found it difficult juggling accounts.

I'm just hoping Ebay aren't going to go round manually checking people's VAT details and linking them to old toasted accounts, especially if you have a good selling record on the new account. I can't see the business sense.

However, I have created some fresh accounts as a back up, but its going to take 6-12 months to build the limits up to the account I have now


Hi INDIE, i am in the exact situation as yourself i too have a VAT number which is at my address which is linked to a toasted acc, Ebay have restricted my account i cannot update listings or add new listings, just want to know how you got on when you did add the VAT number - is the acc still running and did you experience any problems?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Hi Indie just wondering how you got on with this this acc after the VAT number?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

My account got restricted too. Luckily I had some warning to create fresh accounts. They did a hard check on it I think. Senseless really as it had low cases and high feedback. I didn't pay the fees in disgust.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Ok, so EVERYBODY will automatically be blocked if you are over the 85k threshold it appears.

I haven't listed a single item since that initial email that everybody received but had a courtesy call from ebay telling me that my account had a VAT block on it (may be for a while now ... but I wasn't aware) and I was asked whether I was looking to become VAT registered (i'm over the threshold by £4000 still).

She said if I get below the threshold it's just a case of giving them a quick call to have it removed.

I wasn't going to use my account for the next 12 months anyway so will probably have the block removed later this year.

So if your accounts are blocked, just pay your fees and leave it dormant. No need to abandon them as i've read a few people have completely abandoned their accounts and not paid fees etc as they're so annoyed. You will definitely get it unblocked again once you are way below the threshold or if you put a VAT number on it.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

No you won't, once its on, it's on.

Its easily fixed, just takes a little ingenuity.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Please elaborate

I had a recent ebay vat block and stopped selling until below 85k, once below 85k I notified ebay that HMRC did not require me to be registered as I was now below the threshold and I now again have a fully active account.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

If you are over the threshold sure VAT is required. No way to run away.

Dispite what people say, being vat registered is a choice YOU make.
YOU run your business and YOU decide what your turnover will be by restricting or pushing your sales accordingly.
Should you run a business that can only achieve a maximum turnover of let's say 88k, then mathematical sense would say to cut your sales to 85k max to prevent vat registration and paying a vat bill on the entire sales thus also reducing profits or in many cases being uncompetitive in the ebay market.
A quick call to hmrc to let them know you ran over by only a few thousand pound by accident and will ensure this does not happen again and certainly will not within the next 12 months would mean you would not be required to be vat registered. This is classed as 'VAT exception'.
Cutting sales as I did and reducing turnover to below 85k makes perfect sense, hmrc and ebay would also understand why you would do this.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Funny thing is ... all this will soon change when brexit comes in to force. Who knows what the VAT registration threshold will be in 2 years time.

If it's 50k then everyone will be forced to become registered fairly quickly.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I can`t see how that works to be honest....If you owe VAT you owe VAT end of. It does not go away.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

No, it becomes invisible..STEALTH like :cheer:

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

what happened now? did they remove your selling privileges

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

any update on your side? I am at the same situation now. what happened to you?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I got blocked even though I stopped selling. Ebay were just working through their list of people that will be exceeding the threshold based on sales performance.

I am below the threshold now. But won't be touching the account until next year. If I reach the threshold this year on my new account I am just going to become VAT registered and go full on with it. If I can still make good money on a non-established account then I will do even better with an established one. That's how I have convinced myself.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Thanks for update. What do you mean by blocked? Do you mean the red message on top edit listings that asks you to register and prevents you from editing? Or do you mean they completely removed your selling privileges?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Completely removed my selling privileges. I stopped selling once I realised I went over anyway, but they still blocked me. I got a courtesy call to find out what my plans were I just told them on the phone I will be in touch in the future once I have consulted my accountant.

VAT is an absolute headache.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I have recently hit the VAT threshold on my accounts. Although none has been limited, I have ceased to sell on them - with the vague hope that I may be lucky to put these accounts to use again in the future.

On other accounts, I have increased prices out of proportion to keep annual sales about £50K.

I pay taxes on all my earnings and have a VAT number for my primary business, but it is quite a pain that I cannot use it to justify my clearance to exceed the 85k limits on the stealth accounts.
If anyone comes up with a way around this limitation, kindly PM me.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

You can't supply a VAT number on a stealth account so your only option is to stay under the threshold and operate multiple accounts.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

Thanks, Ebayorburst. Will steer clear of the VAT threshold from now on.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

I have stayed clear on the VAT THRESHOLD on a stealth account for 3 months. The notice came up at £65,000 turnover and attempted to list.
Called ebay, they said its not them wanting the info, its hmrc from them and they wont manually lift selling restriction require a cross border transaction exemption certificate how to get one of those?

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

That's sad as you're clear of the threshold.

Is it possible that your recent sales history suggests you might get past the threshold if you keep up the trend?

One of my accounts has been doing about £4000 monthly for three years or more. It doesn't matter how they compute it, would never hit £85,000 in a tax year. And it has not been noticed for VAT.

Will experiment with keeping all accounts within that range but spread sales across several accounts.

Re: Ebay are demanding I display my VAT number in listings.
 

It looks like there's a problem with this listing.
You are unable to list new items pending evidence of full compliance with your UK VAT obligations. If you have already provided a UK VAT number please check that it remains valid and that your company or First & Last Name details provided to eBay match those on your VAT registration. If you haven’t registered for VAT with HMRC, visit HMRC’s website here . Once you have registered with HMRC, provide your VAT ID to eBay here. This restriction will remain in place until you have updated or added your valid VAT details or otherwise provided us with evidence of compliance. Failure to comply with UK VAT Obligations may result in further action and restriction from trading on ebay

Received this today when i tried to edit a listing