VAT: cross-border supply and installation contracts

Question

We are a Spanish company and have won a contract to build a waste disposal plant in the UK. UK and overseas subcontractors will supply us with components for the plant which will be constructed outside the UK and then shipped here. Engineers on site will provide advisory services in relation to the contract. Will we be required to UK VAT register or is there a simplification we can use? If there is a simplification does this also apply to the subcontractors?

Answer

The starting point has to be to map out the various transactions and identify where any VAT is due in relation to each and then crucially who is liable to account...