Requirement to issue VAT receipt

At my company, we recently placed an order with Sainsburys online delivery service for some provisions for the office. When we phoned them up and asked them for a VAT receipt, they replied that it is not their policy to issue them.

Now obviously 99% of Sainsburys' customers don't care two hoots about accounting for the VAT on what they buy, but as a business, we are in the other 1%. And it's not as if we could just easily figure out what the VAT amount is because there is a bewildering mixture of VAT exempt and standard rated items.

Am I right in thinking that they are legally obliged to supply a VAT receipt if we ask them to?

Adam

Reply to
Adam
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These seem pertinent:

"Anyone supplying goods and services direct to the public does not have to provide a VAT invoice unless the customer requires one. Where the tax-inclusive value of supply is not more than £250, the invoice need only show:

  • The name, address and VAT registration number of the supplier * The date of the supply * A description of the goods or services supplied * The total amount payable, including tax " And "There is no requirement to issue a VAT invoice for a zero-rated or exempt supply."

Being Sainsbury, are the items you bought zero rated foods?

Reply to
Sharky

Thanks for that. Looks like they have to issue at least the minimum you've described above then (I think the order was for less than 250). Which they've said they won't.

Some are, some aren't. That's what makes it complicated to know what the total amount of VAT should be and why I am particularly keen to get a VAT receipt.

Adam

Reply to
Adam

I have a basic till receipt from Sainsbury's for petrol here. It fulfills the basic requirements above. I haven't ordered for delivery, but they may well have sent something by email or put the till slip in the box.

If you want a bill head receipt go to Fortum & Mason.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

I guess the petrol receipts must be different then. All they gave us is their till recipt, which doesn't have their VAT number on it. It also doesn't say how much of the total is VAT, which is actually quite complex to calculate because of the mixture of VAT exempt and zero-rated items.

I'm not naive enough to think I'll get anything approaching customer service from Sainsburys. I'd just like them to fulfil their legal requirements.

Reply to
Adam

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