We reported this seller to HMRC VAT Fraud team in 2014 . HMRC finally took action against them in the summer of 2017.
HMRC has gifted this seller at least £4,000,000 in unpaid VAT That’s 17% of the total £22.5m budget HMRC have allocated to tackle this fraud over the next 5 years
Case Study
UPDATE 1st October 2016 – The seller has now started to cloned a UK companies name and their VAT number on many of their eBay accounts:
J5 HOLLAND LTD
Satnam Kaila, 5/F,Second Phase ,Qianlong Logistics Park Pinghu Town,Longgang, 518112 Shenzhen, Guangdong China
VAT number: GB 924712823
We contacted J5 HOLLAND LTD who confirmed they did not know the seller or allowed them to use their company name or VAT number.
Below we have listed 16 eBay seller’s accounts that have cloned J5 HOLLAND LTD company name and VAT number on eBay.co.uk:
alffancy
bluebetter
bluelink88
buyonline315
drasoo
miracdiam666
newgaga
sharpnet
smartlife2013
tomorrowtop
tomshoo2015
topestore360
ttmallzone365
ttstoreusa
UPDATE 23rd February 2016 – This seller has now changed their company information from TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd to GUFEEL NETWORK LIMITED on eBay:
Jiangyang Huang
G Zone 5/F, No.1 Exchange Square,huanan City, Pinghu, Longgang
518111 Shenzhen, Guangdong
China
They are also using VAT number which is not an official NETPS VAT number registered to a UK accountants address:
GUFEEL NETWORK LIMITED
C/O ICON ACCOUNTANTS
CAPITAL HOUSE
662 LONDON ROAD, CHEAM
SUTTON, SURREY
SM3 9BY
http://www.icon-accountants.co.uk/
Case Study
Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd run 21+ business seller accounts on eBay.co.uk with stock is located in the UK.
The total annual sales of their eBay accounts is £8,013,888.00 This equates to £1,335,648.00 of VAT per year. The oldest account dates back to 2006, with the newest setup in 2014.
One may wonder why eBay are letting one Chinese business seller trade with 21 separate eBay accounts (they may have more – but these are the ones we have found.
Secret Shopper
We purchased an item from one of their eBay accounts and asked for a VAT invoice, which they provided. The VAT number used on the invoice was not registered to them.
Using someone else’s VAT number is VAT Fraud.
TOMTOP gave their UK company name and warehouse address on the invoice:
TomorrowTop LTD
Unit 4 Victory Trading Estate
Kiln Road
Portsmouth
Hampshire
TomorrowTop LTD is a Chinese owned company.
TomorrowTOP Ltd is fulfilling orders for Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd eBay Accounts
Below are details of TOMTOP eBay accounts. Most of the accounts sell the same range of products; we given an example of a product called the “Digital Baby Infrared Thermometer” which they sell on 19 of their eBay accounts.
| Sales | Country | UK Stock | VAT Number | Example Listing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ilastone | £1,053,636.00 |  |
 |
 |
141210178763 |
| tomtop.wholesaler | £748,452.00 | |
|
|
360820909516 |
| tomtop.usa | £586,956.00 | |
|
|
301105808424 |
| usbempire | £555,804.00 | |
|
|
|
| tomtop_home | £520,776.00 | |
|
|
361214279119 |
| tomtop.mall | £434,196.00 | |
|
|
251431699910 |
| homegarden2012 | £417,264.00 | |
|
|
351312602356 |
| tomtop_uk | £414,408.00 | |
|
|
400651675359 |
| ttmallzone365 | £378,396.00 | |
|
|
131111169483 |
| tomtop_game | £373,788.00 | |
|
|
190974384029 |
| tomtop_w | £318,252.00 | |
|
|
291015841171 |
| newmango | £287,184.00 | |
|
|
131047901858 |
| tomtop_digital | £256,392.00 | |
|
|
191047878749 |
| ttstoreusa | £254,868.00 | |
|
|
111442338688 |
| tomorrowtop | £213,780.00 | |
|
|
200988325283 |
| dodotech | £205,224.00 | |
|
|
231159277150 |
| tomtop_sales | £191,832.00 | |
|
|
400862116449 |
| costcobuy | £184,404.00 | |
|
|
301020355517 |
| antiquechina2009 | £179,436.00 | |
|
|
291015960679 |
| tomtop_shop | £161,664.00 | |
|
|
|
| dudustory | £142,548.00 | |
|
|
161310971396 |
| tomtop_deals | £134,628.00 | |
|
|
Who is TOMTOP?
TOMTOP is a major distributor based in Shenzhen China. They have 3 companies:
- Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd – Chinese
- Tomtop Group, Limited – American
- TomorrowTop LTD – UK
They operate several websites and sales channels:
They sell just about everything that’s made in China.
Business seller information
They mostly use the company name “Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd” or “TOMTOP GROUP LIMITED” in their Business seller information
All give the same address: G Zone 5/F, No.1 Exchange Square, Huanan City, Pinghu, Longgang, 518111 Shenzhen, China.
The Future of Retail in the UK
This seller giving a startlingly dark picture of for how Chinese Distributors are killing off UK retailers & distributors. They are taking their product direct for the factory to the UK consumers. UK retailers don’t stand a chance, especially when they evade VAT.
Questions for HMRC to answer?
- Why is Chinese company Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd issuing VAT invoices in the name of a UK company TomorrowTop LTD & why are they using a VAT number that is not registered to either of them?
- What safety guard’s do you have to ensure that this seller is declaring VAT on all their eBay accounts & sales?
- Has Shenzhen TOMTOP Technology Co., Ltd paid their VAT liability of £1,335,648.00 a year from their 21+ eBay accounts?
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