is famesystems a sinking ship?

Comments

• layer7 Member, Host Rep, LIR

  April 3

  @FameSystems said:

  @houmie said:

  Regarding the VAT issue specifically: we want to provide some transparency on why this turned out to be more complex than a simple toggle.
  Since Brexit, the UK is classified as a third country under German tax law. For B2B services like hosting, the place of supply shifts to the customer's location under §3a(2) of the German VAT Act (UStG) which means German VAT should not apply. In principle, this is straightforward.

  In practice, however, it's significantly more involved than the standard intra-EU reverse charge that most billing systems are built around. Within the EU, VAT ID validation runs through VIES -> a standardised system that makes automated verification and correct invoicing relatively simple. For third countries like the UK post-Brexit, there is no equivalent system. Proper implementation requires manual verification of the customer's business status, adapted invoicing logic (net invoices with correct legal references instead of EU reverse charge notes), adjusted VAT reporting, and sign-off from our tax advisors all of which need to work correctly from both a legal and a technical standpoint.

  As a German GmbH & Co. KG, getting this wrong doesn't just mean an incorrect invoice, it can mean personal liability for unpaid VAT and issues during tax audits. That's not an excuse for the delay, but it is the reason we couldn't simply ship it in a single sprint as our Development-Team was unfortunately communicated to you.

  Hi,

  in case this kind of stuff is still an issue:

  Here:

  https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-vat-number

  You can verify the VAT ID and the company name. If the customer provided correct and matching data, you could just set this account of the customer to a tax-free account and thats it.

  Maybe screenshot/download the result of the website showing its a registered company for the records, just in case and thats it.

  Thanked by 1oloke
• zed Member

  April 3

  hi whats happenin here