Vintro Pro
NL · FR · EN
Vintro Pro
NL · FR · EN
No — and that is the most common misunderstanding in the whole subject.
No. A good is only a margin good if you bought it from someone who could not charge VAT on it, such as a private individual, a non-taxable person, or a dealer who sold under the margin scheme himself. Bought on an invoice showing deductible VAT, the piece is, in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, second-hand but not a margin good. In the UK, art, antiques and collectors' items you imported yourself, and art bought from its creator, can still go under the margin scheme after a written election to HMRC (SI 1995/1268 art. 12).
The scheme exists to avoid double taxation. A private seller paid the VAT on that cabinet once and for all; he cannot reclaim it when he sells. If you then paid VAT on your full selling price, the same cabinet would be taxed twice. The margin scheme fixes that — but only where that first VAT really did stick.
Why the margin scheme exists
VAT on your full selling price
Taxed twiceThe private seller already paid VAT on the cabinet, and cannot reclaim it.VAT on your margin
No double taxationBut only where that first VAT really did stick.So ask the same question at every purchase: could my seller charge VAT? If yes, it is an ordinary good. If no, it is a margin good and the purchase price needs recording.
The same question at every purchase
From a private individual, from a non-taxable person, from a taxable person who supplied the item exempt because he had no right of deduction, from a small business under the VAT exemption scheme selling a capital good, or from another dealer who sold the piece under the margin scheme himself. All five share one feature: there was no deductible VAT on your purchase (VAT Directive, article 314).
Yes. An antiques dealer may use the margin scheme for pieces bought from someone who could not charge VAT, such as a private individual, a non-taxable person, or a fellow dealer who sold under the margin scheme himself. You then pay VAT on your profit margin instead of on the full selling price. On a piece bought with deductible VAT, it is not allowed in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Vintro Pro keeps, per piece, what you paid, when, and where it came from. Your stock list and your margin VAT build themselves while you work.
30 days free, no card number.