EBay asking for national insurance number

[raik1performance]

Hi everyone, I recently joined for like 1 month and I start selling as a private seller , and now eBay is asking me to provide national insurance number.

"New UK digital sales reporting legislation requires sellers with 30 or more sales, or who have sales exceeding £1740 in a calendar year, to register this information"

[corgisole]

Interesting FCA info>

eBay Commerce UK Ltd

Registered office address

 

Hotham House 1 Heron Square Richmond TW9 1EJ United Kingdom

Phone number:

 

+448003583229

This firm has confirmed its contact details are correct. Firms must do this at least once a year.

Current FCA status for firm: Authorised

Payments and e-money, for example, online wallets and money transfers:  No permissions

This firm doesn’t have our permission to carry out activities in your chosen category. See below to find out more.

[*vyolla*]

---

@garrand9ad wrote:

Take your time and HMRC are always ready to help.

I now only fill in what is called a short return because my earnings are way under a certain amount.

You will need to add in expenses. HMRC has guides on these. I did have a accountant but now I fill it out myself. But getting advice from a accountant is always a good idea.

---

How does a seller with a private account claim for business expenses though?

If you're trading as a business then you need an eBay business account to keep it all above board, not just with eBay who may not care, but certainly with HMRC. What happens if you claim business expenses and somebody from HMRC checks your account and sees that you're a private seller trying to offset something you're not entitled to? That would worry me. 

[theelench]

No, it's been stated more than enough times on here that as long as a seller on ebay is paying their taxes correctly, that HMRC are not at all interested whether or not a seller is registered as private or business with ebay.

HMRC are not interested in ebay designations or T&Cs, all tgey are interested in is whether the seller pays the correct amount of tax.

[sml192]

---

@corgisole wrote:

Interesting FCA info>

eBay Commerce UK Ltd

Registered office address

 

Hotham House 1 Heron Square Richmond TW9 1EJ United Kingdom

Phone number:

 

+448003583229

This firm has confirmed its contact details are correct. Firms must do this at least once a year.

Current FCA status for firm: Authorised

Payments and e-money, for example, online wallets and money transfers:  No permissions

This firm doesn’t have our permission to carry out activities in your chosen category. See below to find out more.

---

I think you are looking at the wrong entry.  Ebay currently has 3 entries on the FCA register.  The first is the main entry and does show permissions for 'Payments and e-money'.  The second entry, which I think is the one you were looking at, has permissions under 'Borrowing money, including credit cards, hire, credit broking and debt advice'. 

1. eBay Commerce UK Ltd

   Reference number: 925354

   Type

   PSD

   Payment services / electronic money status

   Authorised Payment Institution
   Since 28/04/2021
   

   This is a firm that has been given permission to provide payment services

2. eBay Commerce UK Ltd

   Reference number: 968972

   Status

   Authorised
   Since 31/01/2023
   This firm is authorised for specific activities and product types. 

   Type

   Regulated

3. eBay (UK) Limited

   Reference number: 953961

   Status

   Appointed representative
   Since 01/07/2021
   This firm is an 'Appointed Representative' (AR). This means it can carry out certain regulated business on behalf of a 'principal firm'. A principal firm is a firm that is authorised for certain regulated activities in the UK and delegates the whole or part of its business to an AR. An AR can only carry out the regulated business that its principal firm allows it to, and the principal firm is responsible for that business.

   Type

   Appointed Representative

eBay Commerce UK Ltd

Registered office address

 

Hotham House 1 Heron Square, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey TW9 1EJ United Kingdom(full details)

Phone number: 

+448003583229

Current FCA status for firm:AUTHORISED PAYMENT INSTITUTION

Payments and e-money, for example, online wallets and money transfers:SOME PERMISSIONS

This firm has our permission to carry out some activities in your chosen category. See below to find out what this firm can do.

 

eBay Commerce UK Ltd

Registered office address

 

Hotham House 1 Heron Square Richmond TW9 1EJ United Kingdom(full details)

Phone number: 

+448003583229

This firm has confirmed its contact details are correct. Firms must do this at least once a year.

Current FCA status for firm:AUTHORISED

Borrowing money, including credit cards, hire, credit broking and debt advice:SOME PERMISSIONS

This firm has our permission to carry out some activities in your chosen category. See below to find out what this firm can do.

[*vyolla*]

---

@theelench wrote:

No, it's been stated more than enough times on here that as long as a seller on ebay is paying their taxes correctly, that HMRC are not at all interested whether or not a seller is registered as private or business with ebay.

HMRC are not interested in ebay designations or T&Cs, all tgey are interested in is whether the seller pays the correct amount of tax.

---

Hard to believe that HMRC aren't interested given that a private seller would not be entitled to offset expenses, thus HMRC would be losing out. If they aren't at the moment, they've only got to wake up and smell the coffee and start dishing out backdated bills. 

[hampstead_oldie]

Doesn't look like a business to me on previous feedback.

[jonatjonatjonat]

Given you are responding to a 9 month old post, I honestly can’t remember.

[jonzey_boy]

Good this will identity/ catch all the businesses illegally selling as private individuals there by bypassing the requirements of legislation and avoiding giving buyers their rights under UK distance seller legislation 

[garrand9ad]

Very true. I asked them that very question not long ago. They don't mind as long as you are paying taxes correctly. My own selling is a real mix of items I no longer need and items I bought to sell. The items bought to sell go down. The others are personal and HMRC doesn't want to know about them. That is from HMRC. Besides what I sell is only 10% of my small business. Which is nothing to do with eBay at all.

[papso22]

Of course HMRC don't mind if you trade on a private eBay account as long as you pay your taxes.  That's because they are a tax collecting department and not concerned with consumer law or the one about misrepresenting yourself as a private seller.

You can only abide by those laws by trading on an ebay business account. 

[garrand9ad]

I asked eBay about a business account. I had one and as I didn't sell enough they let me know I don't need one.

They closed it down.

I changed my seller name and that's that.

[papso22]

Ebay customer services are not the people to rely on to know about UK law, or even their own stated policies regarding business accounts.

[garrand9ad]

HMRC doesn't care about if your private or a business. They just want you as a person to provide true information and a expense is dictated by them. To give a short guide. Anything connected with the sale of a item is a expense. Including postage.

[jckl1957]

But UK consumer law states that business sellers have to provide their business name and address on their listings - only members with business accounts can do that on Ebay - and have to allow returns for any reason for a minimum of 14 days.

Those are the legal requirements that you are ignoring.

[ett1954]

"To give a short guide. Anything connected with the sale of a item is a expense. Including postage." - Not if you are claiming the Traders Allowance as this is determined on gross income (turnover).

[garrand9ad]

Iam not a trader by a long way.

Good grief you people are great at jumping to conclusions 😂 

[ett1954]

"Iam not a trader by a long way." - I never suggested you were.  The comment is aimed at your incorrect statement.  A person using the trading allowance cannot claim expenses on that allowance.

[garrand9ad]

My  actual business is totally different from what I sell on eBay. So on eBay I just sell to finance my hobby., Though the odd time I do sell  items I used for display. But being service based in the hobby of modelling. eBay didn't and never had been relevant to me this way.

I just sell when the mood takes me.

HMRC never did care about private sellers or business sellers. Just taxes. I don't make enough to pay much tax as it's now part time.

[garrand9ad]

Oh sorry I picked you up in the wrong.

[garrand9ad]

I use a personal allowance. Always have on my accounts advice.

I would not like to run a eBay business at all.

With anything I get I like to put it back into my scale modelling. eBay has some nice items and books I like buying.