Totalling turnover

My new client is a partnership in the plumbing business. The total business turnover has exceeded the VAT registration threshold for the previous two tax years but the partnership did not register for VAT because of a lack of knowledge.

I have recently advised the client that at first glance they need to register and HMRC will look to recover underpaid VAT and possibly charge penalties.

However a significant portion of the partnership revenue consists of boilers that have been purchased for specific jobs and are not held as stock.

The service provided by the partnership to the customer is the fitting of a boiler. The partnership charges for the labour and the boiler is charged on to the client at its cost from the supplier. Further the partners advise me that each customer is supplied with a warranty from the boiler manufacturer which they...