Business License and VAT registration

[Winnie2011]

Hi,
I would like to import some craft supplies directly from the US, however they asked me for business license and VAT registration when i contacted the US suppliers. I am trading under my name therefore I do not have a business license and I understand I only have to registered to VAT when my turnover is above £70K. As a new start up - there is no way I have reached that threshold yet. The only thing that I can proof to them that I am in business is my business cheque (which is under my name) and my website - but they require more.
Just wondering whether anyone has come across this situation and what document I can obtain to proof to them I am in business?

Thank you very much in advance.

[0103media]

The £70k is when you have to register by law... You can register before that.

When I started a new company I register from the start.. Many suppliers need a VAT number to be able to sell like a min order size ..

Hope that helps

[ali_beam]

You do not need to register for VAT. You should be able to buy without needing a VAT number. I have just bought some beads from a company in the Czech Republic. I am not VAT registered but it just means that I have to pay the VAT to the company.

I do not charge my customers VAT but I will have to pass on the cost of the VAT I have been charged to my customers.

If you are hoping to make enough money so that a couple of years or so you will need to become VAT registered, make sure you add this into your pricing - otherwise your customers will have a nasty shock when you have to put up your prices by 20%!

Ali