I have an UK VAT registration number and charge vat at 20% on all goods sold, it's at this point I should add "where applicable". I recently bought some dried herbs at auction in order to sell on the eBay; as per HMRC rules in VAT Notice 701/38 the herbs are zero rated as "Culinary herbs and spices are zero-rated, unless they are specifically sold as medicinal products". However when using the eBay function to print an invoice off it shows that 20% vat in included in the selling price. The only way around this for me is to produce an invoice for every sale in my accounts software, which is time consuming. Is there another way of doing this? Does Ebay not vary its (UK) VAT rate to account for differences in the actual VAT rate for products e.g. herbs, childrens clothes, food, energy saving materials, mobility aids, incontinence pads etc. etc. As these items are listed in a category I would imagine it would be a pretty simple thing for eBay to adjust its reporting on the categories in the case of herbs being Home Garden - Food & Drink - Non-Alcoholic Drinks - Tea & Infusions or Home Garden - Herbs, Spices & Seasonings - Herbs & Spices - Single.
I can't believe that this issue has not come up before and would appreciate any help in either getting the invoice to show the correct VAT rate/amount or how to raise this issue for eBay themselves to look at. Thank you.
