Practitioners should note that a solicitor should issue VAT invoices for services only to his own client and in the name of his own client. A solicitor should not issue a VAT invoice in the name of a person who is not his client, even if his costs are being paid by a third party. For example, a plaintiff’s solicitor should not issue a VAT invoice in the name of the defendant, and a lender’s solicitor should not issue a VAT invoice in the name of the borrower. Section 66 of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010, as amended, provides that a VAT invoice can only be issued to the person to whom a service is supplied.

Furthermore, pursuant to section 28(3) of that act, where a person is indemnified under an insurance policy in respect of the services of a solicitor, the solicitor’s services are deemed to be supplied to, and received by, that person, and any VAT invoice to be issued in respect of the service must be issued to that person, and not the insurer.