Takeovers for VAT

Takeovers for VAT

Overview

This guide outlines the steps required for Expandly to take over your VAT filings from your previous provider.

What will we need from you?

To ensure a smooth transition, we’ll need the following:

1. Access to Your Filing History
This will be requested at the beginning of your onboarding journey. Full visibility of your historical VAT filings and any outstanding liabilities is essential to ensure accuracy and compliance.

Important:

  • If you are unable to provide filing history, Expandly cannot be held responsible for any additional costs incurred due to issues that may arise later.

  • For some countries—such as the UK—filing history is mandatory. Without it, we may not be able to proceed with the takeover.

  • This information should be readily available from your previous provider. If they are unwilling to share it, we strongly advise you to escalate the request with them.

  1. Access to any filing history - this will be requested from you at the beginning of your onboarding journey. This is to ensure that we are aware of all filings, any debts and have full visibility of your account history.
    Please Note: if you are unable to provide filing history, Expandly cannot accept any responsibility for additional costs that may occur should any issues arise at a later time. It is also important to note that for some Countries, including UK, not having filing history will prevent us from being able to takeover at all, so it is really important to provide this filing history to us. It is information tat should be readily available from your previous partner, so please request this and escalate with your partner should they not wish to disclose the data. 
  2. Standard VAT Documentation, including ID and Company Documents - please click here for more information 
  3. Depending on the country, we may also require a POA form to enable to transfer to be accepted by the various tax offices
  4. For UK takeovers, we will require access to your Government Gateway ID - this will include access to the password and may require your assistance, should 2FA be set up on the account 
2. Standard VAT Documentation
This includes proof of ID and company documents. You can click here for more details on what is required.
3. Power of Attorney (POA)
Depending on the country, a signed POA form may be required to allow us to represent you with the local tax authorities.
4. UK Government Gateway Access (for UK VAT Takeovers Only)

  • We will require access to your Government Gateway account.

  • This includes the login credentials and may require your assistance with two-factor authentication (2FA) if it's enabled.

 VAT Takeover Timelines

The length of time required to complete the takeover depends on how quickly you can provide the necessary documentation. While takeovers are typically quicker than registering a new VAT number, delays can occur if required documents are missing.

  • Average Timeframe: 4 weeks from the submission of all required documentation

  • Exceptions: In some cases—such as with Poland—the process may take up to 3 months due to local authority procedures.

Need more help? 

If you have any questions or concerns during this process, please don’t hesitate to contact your onboarding specialist. We're here to support you every step of the way.

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