VAT Invoice and Company Stationery Requirements

VAT invoices

The information provided on invoices and credit notes is essential when establishing the VAT liability of the supplier and the customer’s entitlement to a deduction for the VAT charged. It is therefore essential that these invoices and credit notes are properly drawn up and sequentially numbered in a manner which uniquely identifies the invoice or credit note. These invoices and credit notes should be filed in numerical order and carefully retained by the supplier.

A taxable person who supplies taxable goods or services to another taxable person is obliged to issue a VAT invoice showing the following particulars:

  • Name and address of the trader issuing the invoice.
  • The trader’s VAT registration number.
  • Name and address of the customer.
  • Date of issue of the invoice.
  • Date of supply of the goods or services.
  • A full description of the goods or services.
  • The quantity or volume of the goods supplied.
  • Consideration exclusive of VAT (in €)
  • The VAT rate(s) and the amount of VAT at each rate.
  • Unit price of the goods or services in the case of countable goods and services e.g. hourly rates or prices for standard services (When a supply of a particular service cannot readily be broken down into countable elements then the total VAT exclusive price for the specific service will be accepted as the unit price).
  • If a payment on account is received prior to the completion of a supply of goods or services, the date of receipt of this payment must be shown on the invoice if that date can be determined and differs from the date of issue of the invoice.
  • Where VAT is not accountable by the supplier in Ireland but is accountable by the taxable customer in another EU Member State the supplier must show the customer’s VAT number in that other EU Member State. This will apply in a zero-rated or a reverse charge situation.
  • In the case of margin scheme or auction scheme goods the invoice must indicate that the appropriate scheme applies.

Company stationery

The image of your company or business is important. As your stationery is often the medium of contact with the outside world, its design should be consistent with your product and image.

Do not have stationery designed until the name of your limited company or your business name has been registered.

A limited company’s stationery – including letters, written orders (for goods and services to be supplied to it) and other documents – should include:

  • The business name (if appropriate).
  • The name of the company plus Limited, Ltd, Public Limited Company, or plc (or Irish equivalents) as appropriate.
  • The business address in the State (which is the address at which any document relating to the company can be served).
  • The names of all of the directors (Christian names/initials and surnames) and their nationality if not Irish.
  • The address of the company’s registered office.
  • The company’s registration number and its place of registration (for example – “Registered in Ireland, No. 123456”).

If the business is registered for VAT, it must display its VAT number on invoices and credit notes, but this is optional on other stationery. In addition, there is other information which would normally be included in company stationery even if there is no legal requirement to do so, such as telephone and fax numbers, email address, addresses of any group or associated companies.

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