Here is a copy of HMRC Notice to VAT evading sellers taken from Amazon forum :

Dear Sir/Madam,

New measures were introduced by HMRC for some businesses established overseas that are required to be registered for VAT in the UK. With these new measures, we may:

· direct a business to appoint a VAT representative in the UK
· require a business to provide a security to HMRC
· rule that an online marketplace provider and/or a UK VAT representative are jointly and severally liable, together with the business, for any UK VAT debts that become due.

You can find more information on the New Measures by visiting www.gov.uk and searching for ‘overseas businesses using an online marketplace to sell goods in the UK’.

I now require you to read the attached letter and register for UK VAT. Can you please notify me by 16 February that this has been done and provide me with a copy of the reference

I also wish to review the following business records

· Annual accounts and bank statements
· Books of account: sales and purchase daybooks, cash books, petty cash books and ledgers
· sales and purchase invoices
· A brief overview of the business and its main activities to include when the business commenced and when it started to sell goods within the UK market.
· Import Records
· Completion and return of the attached Import Questionnaire

Should you wish to discuss this with a member of the online selling complaince team, as postal communications can take some time, you may prefer to correspond by email. Of course, there is no problem if you prefer to correspond by post in relation to this matter and I will assume this to be the case if you do not respond to this email. However, if you would prefer to correspond by email, HM Revenue & Customs requires a director of the company to confirm in writing that they understand accept the risks involved in using email. It is important that you have assessed the risks of using email to send information or to receive it. If you use email to send HMRC information, you do so at your own risk.

HM Revenue & Customs takes the security of personal information very seriously and recognises that it has privileged access to data, which we endeavour to protect. Therefore, in order for us to respond to any queries by e-mail, we need to obtain written confirmation that the director.
Has no objections to corresponding by email (if this includes agents or representatives – please specify), and
Understands and accepts the risks associated with e-mail, and
Has no objections to us sending information concerning the details of the company

HM Revenue & Customs will de-sensitise information wherever possible (e.g. quoting only part of unique reference numbers) and we are happy to discuss how you may do the same but still provide the information we need. However, if you would prefer us not to respond to your enquiries by email (e.g. because other people have access to your email account) we are happy to respond by post. For further information see: HMRC Privacy Policy

Therefore, if you accept the security risk and wish to correspond by email, please reply to this email advising that, although you are aware that email correspondence is not secure, you wish to use it. That will then give me authorisation to provide full details of my enquiry by email. Please note the email capacity has been limited to 8mb. Therefore, if the information to be supplied is more than this, separate emails, each less than 8mb, will be required.

General information regarding UK VAT can be found on our website, at www.gov.uk/hmrc

Kind regards

On Line Selling Compliance Team