How to get a UK VAT number

When do you need a UK VAT number?

You need to assess UK VAT registration before selling if your business is established outside the UK and has any UK-facing taxable activity. The most common triggers are local stock, imports followed by resale, Amazon FBA, marketplace operations, and direct sales where the place of supply is in the UK. Non-established sellers often work with a fiscal representative in the United Kingdom to manage registration and ongoing UK VAT compliance.

The GBP 90,000 threshold still matters, but it is not the only rule. It mainly applies to the general UK VAT registration test based on taxable turnover. For a non-established taxable person, HMRC guidance is stricter: making taxable supplies in the UK can create a registration obligation regardless of value.

The GBP 90,000 threshold: useful, but not enough

The UK VAT threshold is GBP 90,000. A business must register if its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over that amount, or if it expects taxable turnover to go over GBP 90,000 in the next 30 days.

If the threshold is exceeded over the past 12 months, the registration deadline is within 30 days of the end of the month in which the threshold was crossed. If the business expects to exceed the threshold in the next 30 days, it must apply before the end of that 30-day period.

This is the rule many foreign sellers know. The risk is applying it mechanically. If your company is not established in the UK, the NETP rules may require registration before any GBP 90,000 calculation becomes relevant.

Non-established businesses: the NETP rule

A non-established taxable person is a business that is not established in the UK but makes taxable supplies there. In that case, VAT registration can be required from the first taxable supply, even if sales are low.

This is the point that often creates errors in UK VAT projects. A French, EU or non-EU company may assume that no VAT registration is needed until GBP 90,000. That can be wrong if the company is already making taxable supplies in the UK, holding goods in the UK, or operating a fulfilment structure that places supplies in the UK.

UK stock, Amazon FBA and local warehouses

If you store goods in the UK before selling them, UK VAT registration should be analysed before stock is moved. This includes:

• Amazon FBA UK inventory

• stock held in a UK third-party logistics warehouse

• goods stored with a distributor or fulfilment provider

• imported goods owned by your company and resold from the UK

• DDP flows where the structure also creates UK taxable supplies or local stock exposure

DDP alone is not a magic VAT registration trigger in every possible structure. The key point is who imports the goods, who owns them at import, where the sale takes place, and whether the foreign business is making a taxable supply in the UK. The guide to selling DDP in the United Kingdom explains the importer-of-record structure in detail.

Importing goods for resale in the UK

If your company imports goods into the UK and resells them, you need to separate customs and VAT requirements.

A UK VAT number identifies your business for VAT. A GB EORI number identifies your business for customs formalities. They are distinct numbers, and import/export operations usually require the GB EORI even if the business already has a VAT number. The full VAT rules in the United Kingdom article covers both customs and VAT frameworks.

Import VAT is another operational issue. Postponed VAT Accounting, often shortened to PVA or PIVA, allows eligible VAT-registered businesses to account for import VAT on the VAT Return rather than paying it upfront at import and reclaiming it later. This can improve cash flow, but it must be set up and reported correctly. The guide to importing goods into the UK without paying VAT upfront explains how PIVA works in practice.

Marketplaces and low-value goods

Marketplace rules can change who accounts for VAT. In some ecommerce scenarios, the marketplace may be treated as the deemed supplier for VAT purposes. That does not mean foreign sellers can ignore VAT registration in all marketplace models.

You still need to review where the goods are located, who imports them, whether stock is held in the UK, and whether the platform or the seller is responsible for VAT on the transaction. Amazon FBA UK stock is a classic case where VAT registration must be handled before the fulfilment model goes live.

How to apply for a UK VAT number

Most applications are made online through GOV.UK using a Government Gateway account. The paper VAT1 route is now exceptional and generally used only where HMRC requires it or where the online route is not suitable.

Before applying, prepare a clean file. HMRC may ask for evidence that the business is real, that the UK activity exists, and that the effective date of registration is correct.

Typical documents include:

• certificate of incorporation or company registration extract

• proof of VAT or tax registration in the home country

• director or beneficial owner identification details

• description of the UK business model

• contracts with UK warehouses, carriers, suppliers or marketplaces

• proof of Amazon UK or marketplace activity, if relevant

• expected turnover and first UK taxable supply date

• import information and GB EORI details where applicable

In practice, a complete UK VAT registration project often takes 8 to 12 weeks from preparation to receipt of the VAT number. This is a realistic planning estimate, not a guaranteed HMRC processing time. Delays are common when the business model is unclear or HMRC asks follow-up questions.

After registration: what changes operationally?

Once registered, the business receives a UK VAT registration certificate showing the VAT number, the effective date of registration and the VAT Return periods. The effective date matters: VAT may be due from that date, even if the certificate arrives later.

From that point, the business must charge UK VAT where required, issue compliant VAT invoices when needed, keep VAT records, submit VAT Returns and pay any VAT due to HMRC.

UK VAT rates are generally:

• 20% standard rate

• 5% reduced rate for specific goods and services

• 0% zero rate for certain taxable supplies

Zero-rated sales are still taxable supplies. This distinction matters because zero-rated turnover can still be relevant for VAT registration and VAT reporting.

VAT Returns, deadlines and Making Tax Digital

UK VAT Returns are usually submitted every 3 months. The standard online filing and payment deadline is 1 calendar month and 7 days after the end of the VAT accounting period.

Making Tax Digital for VAT requires VAT records to be kept digitally and returns to be submitted through compatible software, unless a specific exemption applies. Manual records and disconnected spreadsheets create compliance risk if they do not meet the digital link requirements.

VAT records must generally be kept for at least 6 years. These records include sales invoices, purchase invoices, VAT Return workings, import documents, export evidence, credit notes and supporting documents for the amounts declared.

Should you appoint a UK VAT representative?

A UK fiscal or VAT representative is not automatically mandatory for every European business. It can still be useful when the company has UK imports, stock movements, marketplace flows or limited internal VAT capacity.

A representative or VAT agent can help with: Learn how to claim a VAT refund in the UK.

• confirming whether VAT registration is mandatory or voluntary

• preparing the HMRC application

• managing HMRC questions

• setting up VAT Return periods and MTD software

• reviewing import VAT and PVA/PIVA treatment

• filing VAT Returns and monitoring payment deadlines

I'm Jim, VAT Specialist at Eurofiscalis. I help French and international companies secure their operations across Europe. See our guide on Amazon VAT Guide Sellers.