"Fake" VAT invoices
I ordered an item from a Chinese seller yesterday. I checked their VAT number displayed on Amazon before ordering and it seemed to check out.
The item arrived today and also the vat invoice which I requested. The vat number was totally different to the displayed one and it was registered to a completely and apparently unrelated UK company.
Yet another trick the Chinese sellers are employing.
I will of course go back to the seller.
11 replies
Seller_Rkf2znCXtSZpI
I would have thought the VAT invoice is auto generated by Amazon??
Seller_Nprc5XWvdLYk9
they are only auto generated if the seller is opted in to the vat calculation scheme;
we had a few sellers before who generate automatically an invoice and send it by message
(while I remember one of them recently had the billing address of our account and not the delivery - so it would seem there is additional data whizzing around out there as well)
Seller_AOGH5w0MGAlrp
If you can find the contact details for the actuall VAT number, you could check if they are aware their VAT number is being used by sellers on amazon…
If they are not aware, isnt that VAT fraud?
Seller_VjI0BvZiOIBQK
So many have gotten vat registered but are filing zero of low returns. That’s why they are providing fake invoices.
Please report to bot vatfraud.org as those very friendly guys will take it seriously and also to HMRC at
Seller_x1xMSBwZsJrTE
I must say I’m very disappointed again with great the Amazon VAT scam. I was expecting to see a massive increase in sales as lots of Chinese sellers were suddenly suspended last weekend, sadly it hasn’t happend. I really can’t believe they’ve all now got their VAT affairs in order.
I’m also disappointed that Amazon haven’t forced VAT numbers to be displayed so that buyers can check them before purchase. My main Chinese competitor was up until recently displaying a fake VAT number, now they aren’t displaying any number at all, so it does look somewhat suspect.
I’m now going to make a purchase, ask for a VAT receipt and see what happens.
