What type of invoice must be submitted for VAT refund claims?
When creating VAT (value-added-tax) refund claims in accordance with rules and regulations of different countries, it can be challenging and...
Businesses with international operations have plenty of duties and responsibilities to juggle, which makes the prospect of outsourcing certain functions a very enticing one. Smaller entities, for example, won’t have in-house departments for specific financial services such as the managing of value-added taxation. To make sure everything is done according to the letter of the law, you might want to get assistance from a VAT consultant.
So how do you go about evaluating a potential list of candidates?
Firstly, it’s important to note that we’re referring to both individuals and organisations when using the term VAT consultant since there’s the possibility of a single professional being able to handle the collective workload the tax brings.
The most crucial factor when recruiting an expert is the range of services they offer. Depending on the expert, the list of services will change, so it’s important to keep an eye out for the most fundamental requirements they ought to fulfil.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what you should expect a VAT consultant to handle.
These are some of the more basic services that should be offered, so the absence of one or a few of these items should be a red flag.
Of course, you can always work with a professional or firm to handle just one aspect of value-added taxes, such as registration, but a one-stop shop becomes more valuable as a business grows and expands. Once you build a sense of trust with your VAT consultant, it’s easier and more cost-effective to manage all tax queries at one location.
In other instances, your firm might require assistance on issues unrelated to taxation, such as mergers and acquisitions or audits and risk management. Value-added taxes might be one component of what needs to be addressed, making a firm with a more diverse array of services more appealing.
Most firms these days, both large and small, tend to have some level of global activity. As a result, a tax advisor of any kind should have a firm grasp of the regulatory frameworks of other nations. Our Rules Map reveals how complex and distinct the laws are from one place to the next, so a VAT consultant should be able to work through these geographic differences.
This factor is directly tied to the preceding one. If a business has an international focus, dealing with clients and customers in different languages is almost inevitable. Make sure your VAT consultant has experts that can grasp several languages if your business activity is spread across nations. You never know when speaking French, Spanish or German will come handy.
The commercial landscape is becoming digitised at a rapid pace, so finding assistance from a tech-literate professional is of increasing importance. Given the digitisation process, problems must also be resolved promptly, if not immediately. A professional who is well-versed with technology will be able to create time and money efficiencies to help your business in an international environment with unique challenges.
This item should probably be higher up the list since any VAT consultant should have the necessary knowledge and credentials to gain any client’s attention.
Here are some questions you should keep in mind when making an assessment.
It’s essential that you run through this checklist before diving in with a VAT consultant because your business’ financial success and legal status depend on it. In some cases, though, you might be able to offload the complicated mess that is value-added taxation to a software like VAT4U. We offer an automated online value-added tax recovery platform that takes most of the work out of your hands. Check how the service works here and try it out for free.
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