The OFT is warning businesses to look out for an official-looking letter from a German company concerning “VAT Registration Numbers”.  The OFT issued a similar warning in 2013 and it looks as though businesses on the Island may be being targeted again. 

In the letter, it says that: “As part of the changes to the EU economic package, obligating all companies to provide their VAT Registration Number on various documents since 2010, we as a publisher of leading internet portals, are required to update our database.”

The letter gives the impression that businesses are somehow obliged to provide the German company with their VAT Registration Numbers.  This is not the case.

Providing the company with new information and/or confirming that existing information held by them is correct could cost you hundreds of pounds, as the company will almost certainly charge a substantial recurring annual fee for the information to be published on a “Corporate Portal”.

Anyone who receives one of these letters should bin it, unless they are prepared to incur a substantial recurring annual fee.