Expert advice

WE SPECIALISE IN VAT, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

VAT is increasingly complex and impacts all aspects of your business. We can provide VAT advice to unravel complexity, help ensure compliance and make sure you pay no more VAT, Customs Duty, Excise Duties and various environmental taxes than necessary. 

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HOW WE CAN HELP

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VAT advisory & compliance

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Cross-border VAT

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Customs & excise duties

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Environmental & landfill taxes

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Aggregates levy

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EXPERT HELP WITH VAT & INDIRECT TAXES.

As a transaction-based tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) should be factored into your business plans to ensure there are no unexpected surprises. Many businesses are also subject to Customs Duty, Excise Duties and various environmental taxes. Unlike VAT, which allows you to offset input tax against the output tax due, these other indirect taxes directly affect your profit margins.

Our team’s specialist skills have been acquired through supporting numerous clients, and working in HMRC and private industry. We provide comprehensive VAT advice and indirect tax services and, whether it’s compliance matters or complex restructuring, we’ll support you with practical, tailored solutions.

 

 

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SAVE TIME WITH OUR VAT SUPPLY TOOL.

Amongst our services, we’ve developed a VAT Place of Supply Tool. It provides a clear audit trail of your VAT treatment decision-making, demonstrating to HMRC that you have taken reasonable care.

For suppliers, it ensures VAT is only charged when due, avoiding lengthy and potentially costly arguments with customers. For customers, it allows early identification of over-charged VAT which can be corrected before it becomes a problem.

SAVE TIME WITH OUR VAT SUPPLY TOOL.

Amongst our services, we’ve developed a VAT Place of Supply Tool. It provides a clear audit trail of your VAT treatment decision-making, demonstrating to HMRC that you have taken reasonable care.

For suppliers, it ensures VAT is only charged when due, avoiding lengthy and potentially costly arguments with customers. For customers, it allows early identification of over-charged VAT which can be corrected before it becomes a problem.

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Comprehensive VAT advice

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Advised by Licensed Tax Practitioners

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Fast response when you need it most

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VAT COMPLIANCE.

VAT reporting requirements vary from business to business. Whether you’re a sole trader operating a special accounting scheme or a large company with additional cross-border reporting requirements, our VAT advice can help you meet your VAT obligations. With HMRC being increasingly strict on VAT compliance, it’s essential you can demonstrate “reasonable care”. Our full-service VAT support, from preparation to submission, demonstrates reasonable care. Opt for our pre-submission review for in-house returns. How we can support:

  • Assistance with VAT inspections and enquiries.
  • VAT registrations.
  • Options to tax.
  • Partial exemption calculations.
  • Overseas refund claims.

Our track record of successful negotiations with HMRC will give you peace of mind.

"AAB deliver on time, every time and respond promptly to my queries and needs. I would and have, recommended AAB to businesses who have since joined them."

GRAHAM MACKIE, DALES ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED

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VAT ADVISORY & PLANNING SERVICES. 

As VAT is “above the line”, minimising your VAT burden will directly enhance your profitability. Involving our experienced VAT professionals at an early stage in the planning process can achieve VAT savings that would be difficult to achieve retrospectively.

Using our extensive knowledge of VAT and how HMRC operates, we’ll work with you to create a bespoke solution that’s commercially sound, robust and fully meets your needs. This might range from checking for accuracy to planning the use of special purpose vehicles for a project. We’ll support your core business activities as well as less routine areas, such as:

  • Acquiring, restructuring or disposal of businesses.
  • Acquiring, selling and developing land and buildings.
  • EU and international VAT transactions.

 

VAT ADVISORY & PLANNING SERVICES. 

As VAT is “above the line”, minimising your VAT burden will directly enhance your profitability. Involving our experienced VAT professionals at an early stage in the planning process can achieve VAT savings that would be difficult to achieve retrospectively.

Using our extensive knowledge of VAT and how HMRC operates, we’ll work with you to create a bespoke solution that’s commercially sound, robust and fully meets your needs. This might range from checking for accuracy to planning the use of special purpose vehicles for a project. We’ll support your core business activities as well as less routine areas, such as:

  • Acquiring, restructuring or disposal of businesses.
  • Acquiring, selling and developing land and buildings.
  • EU and international VAT transactions.

 

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Maximise VAT claims

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Stay HMRC compliant

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Avoid costly mistakes

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INTERNATIONAL VAT.

With both VAT and Goods and Services Tax (GST) becoming increasingly popular worldwide, it’s more critical than ever to understand the indirect tax consequences of international trade. Our experienced VAT team have significant experience of advising on international matters and, through affiliate firms in the Crowe Global and TIAG networks, access to an extensive global knowledge resource.

Even within the EU, there are significant differences in how VAT is operated. Expanding outside the EU brings additional complications including VAT/GST registrations, representatives and withholding, and access to VAT refunds.

If you’re planning a multi-jurisdictional activity, our team’s project management skills can co-ordinate advice from all the countries involved, to help identify the key issues and risks involved in ensuring compliance.

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VAT HEALTH CHECKS.

Ensuring you apply the correct VAT advice to your business transactions gives you the reassurance of minimising VAT exposures and penalties. Our VAT health check service is designed to highlight any issues, maximise opportunities and prevent problems. Our service can be a standalone exercise or part of a readiness review before an HMRC inspection and will be matched to your needs. A standard health check would review:

  • Your supplies/income streams.
  • Your VAT recovery procedure and processes; including your partial exemption method (if applicable).
  • Non-core transactions such as property purchases and sales.

Our VAT health check can help ensure that:

  • Your VAT processes are compliant with current VAT laws.
  • You demonstrate “reasonable care” and remove any errors to avoid penalties.
  • By quantifying and disclosing any errors to HMRC before they are uncovered, you can reduce or eliminate any penalty.

As well as ensuring compliance, our health check will highlight opportunities to save VAT by ensuring all available reliefs are applied. Our health check generates real tax efficiencies, allowing you to invest those savings in building a bigger, better and more profitable business.

 

VAT HEALTH CHECKS.

Ensuring you apply the correct VAT advice to your business transactions gives you the reassurance of minimising VAT exposures and penalties. Our VAT health check service is designed to highlight any issues, maximise opportunities and prevent problems. Our service can be a standalone exercise or part of a readiness review before an HMRC inspection and will be matched to your needs. A standard health check would review:

  • Your supplies/income streams.
  • Your VAT recovery procedure and processes; including your partial exemption method (if applicable).
  • Non-core transactions such as property purchases and sales.

Our VAT health check can help ensure that:

  • Your VAT processes are compliant with current VAT laws.
  • You demonstrate “reasonable care” and remove any errors to avoid penalties.
  • By quantifying and disclosing any errors to HMRC before they are uncovered, you can reduce or eliminate any penalty.

As well as ensuring compliance, our health check will highlight opportunities to save VAT by ensuring all available reliefs are applied. Our health check generates real tax efficiencies, allowing you to invest those savings in building a bigger, better and more profitable business.

 

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SOME OF OUR EXPERIENCED TEAM

Maria McConnell VAT partner

MARIA MCCONNELL

INDIRECT TAX PARTNER & HEAD OF VAT

Based in Central Scotland, Maria McConnell is an Indirect Tax Partner and Head of our VAT team. She has a specific focus on VAT advisory & compliance services as well as Customs & Excise duty issues to our UK and international client base. Maria also heads up our amavat compliance service, which provides UK VAT compliance services to EU-based e-commerce businesses.

Maria adopts a down-to-earth approach to dealing with VAT issues for her clients, keeping them well-informed on relevant matters, whilst providing robust and tailored technical advice.

 

Alistair Duncan

ALISTAIR DUNCAN

INDIRECT TAX PARTNER & HEAD OF CUSTOMS

Alistair is an Indirect Tax Partner and Head of our Customs team. He specialises in VAT advisory and compliance services and can advise you on a wide range of VAT matters; from registration, compliance, the liability of supplies and HMRC inspections.  

Based in our Aberdeen office, Alistair also advises on other indirect taxes, including Customs Duties, Excise Duties and Environmental Taxes such as Plastic Packaging Tax, Aggregates Levy and Landfill Tax. 

   

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DISCUSS YOUR VAT TODAY.

Our expert team are here to help.

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