VAT and Indirect Exports Change

When you export goods to a country outside the EU the goods are 'zero-rated' for VAT purposes, which means you do not apply VAT to the value of the goods. However, you need to have the paperwork to prove that the goods left the UK.

If your customer does the physical exporting, in that they take possession of the goods in the UK and handle the shipping, this is called an 'indirect export'. HMRC has previously only allowed you to zero rate the goods in this situation if your customer was an 'overseas person' - they had no VAT registration in the UK and no business establishment here. Also the goods must leave the UK within three months of the handover date.

How to use the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

The seed enterprise investment scheme (SEIS) is designed to help small companies raise modest amounts of funding (up to £150,000). The investor must subscribe for new shares issued by the company (not buy them from another shareholder), and in return he can claim income tax relief equal to 50% of the cost of those shares. 

If the investor has made a capital gain in the same tax year as he makes the SEIS investment, up to 50% of the amount invested in SEIS shares can be set against that capital gain to reduce the CGT payable. This CGT reduction was 100% for gains in 2012/13, but is only 50% for gains arising in 2013/14.