In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thanks for the info sdoj, but no I live in Italy at the moment and so would intend to set up the company in Italy (Lombardia to be precise).
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I still think my route would work better because IVA/VAT is a very messy business. The different rates 17.5% : 20.0% are anomaly which is addressed by permitting a UK company to claim back VAT at 17.5% on UK purchases when they are for export to Italy and for invoicing to an Italian IVA registered company. The Italian company must then declare that they have purchased goods from abroad with no VAT. The intrastat reports are to protect against fraud. This approach can seriously assist cashflow if you are considering selling on delayd payment terms.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Sorry should have said that I intend to import as well as distribute within Italy. I guess that changes things a bit if I want to distribute to private individuals within Italy.
On top of that there is always the issue of Italians not trusting foreign companies when it comes to ordering goods. An Italian operating address would be better.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
if you are thinking of selling to private individuals then that is quite a different matter but cheapest way, in my opinion, would be UK company (you want to be trusted by suppliers too!) and fiscal (IVA/VAT) representative in Italy usually an accountant who will look after your Italian VAT returns. A fiscal agent is not obligatory but preferable because the hassle of trying to file yourself will make you old before your years. Your invoices will show your UK company name with fiscal agent's address and your Italian VAt reference not your UK one.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Can that still be done with me spending most of my time in Italy? Or will the Italian state be difficult about this? Question is have you or anyone else done this? Does it actually work?
This business would be small scale at the beginning i.e. only me and my partner so we would have to represent our company to Italian customers (both private individuals and other companies). Thus we would probably spend far more time in Italy occupied with distribution than in the UK.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Have you tried [url]www.investinitaly.com[/url] ?
[QUOTE=mpmiksauk]I am thinking about setting up an import business in Italy (UK to Italy) but have little idea about the Italian system. Can anyone help?[/QUOTE]
If you are UK based why not form a UK limited company ? - simpler and cheaper esp. for a non-Italian - this will have the added advantage that you can invoice your Italian customers (provided they are IVA(VAT) registered) without any VAT (i.e. zero rated and not to be confused with VAT exempt). Depending on the size of your business you may then need to provide HM revenue & customs with regular intrastat declarations - send me a pm if you want to discuss further.