The growth in online e-commerce is an important part of the UK economy but has also created opportunities for abuse of the VAT system. HMRC have asked for the assistance of online market place companies to help them identify online trader who may not be complying with the requirement to register for VAT.

Ebay and Amazon have both signed an agreement with HMRC to provide data about the businesses operating on their marketplaces both in bulk form and on an individual business basis.

The companies have also agreed to ensure that sellers have access to information about sellers’ VAT obligations in the UK.

As with all of our tax tips and web pages this information is necessarily summarised and of a general nature.  If you would like detailed specific advice please contact us.