2 Businesses - Can I keep them seperate?

[davidcod]

Hello,

I have joined this site hoping there is somebody out there who can assist me with some queries I have. Here goes..

6 months ago I started selling Designer clothing on Ebay - this has since taken off, however my annual turnover is still below the required £58,000 - so I do NOT need to be VAT registered (thankfully!). I remain registered with the Inland Revenue as a Sole Trader.

3 weeks ago I gained a new contact in a non EC country and have started "dropshipping" for him via ebay. Basically, I have 2 seperate ebay accounts - 1 for selling my usual Designer clothing and the other for Dropshipping.

The auction winner will pay me via Paypal and I will then pay my supplier via Western Union - he then ships the goods to my client (worldwide based - both EU and non-EU) - I don't see the goods at any time.

My current headache is this: My annual turnover for my dropshipping venture is likely to exceed £100,000 alone. I assume I will need to register for VAT? How will this affect my other ebay business of selling individual items? I really would like to keep that seperate if possible.

I would appreciate any pointers, as I have been looking on the web for information and I am finding myself going round in circles!

Kind regards,
David

[Instinctive]

All businesses, in the same line of trade or different line of trade, have to be aggregated for VAT purposes if they are in the same name. To keep them separate, you will need to have one pf the business in someone else's name or in partnership or in a limited liability company's name.

In some cases, the VAT office have a right to direct that two separate businesses in different names have to be treated as one for VAT purposes.

Ramnik

[davidcod]

Thanks Ramnik