Thomas Underwood

I am a director of a limited company which has been set up specifically to build a domestic property. By looking at HMRC's guidance on the definition of an 'End User', it is clear that we fall under it. This would mean that the normal VAT rules would apply. However, we would see significant cash-flow benefits if we were able to use Reverse Charge VAT with our suppliers. Under the VAT domestic reverse charge technical guide, there is a section titled 'Choosing to be an end user' under which it is stated that "Being an end user is optional". Under the section titled 'Supplies to possible end users' it is also stated that "You can write to your customer to ask them to confirm they’re an end user or an intermediary supplier, but there is no legal obligation for them to be treated as an end user or intermediary supplier". This would suggest that there is no legal requirement for us to be treat as an End User. My question is: if my company were to purposefully neglect to give an End User declaration to our suppliers, and the invoices were then forced to use Reverse Charge VAT as opposed to regular VAT, would we be in any way breaking the law? Thanks in advance.