When you must register
Taxable supplies over the threshold
You must register if your business has made taxable supplies of £300,000 or more in the preceding 12 months. Taxable supplies include goods and services that are taxed at both the standard and the zero-rate for GST. If the turnover from these goods and services was £300,000 then you should register.
You must also register if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the value of your taxable supplies in the coming 12 months is likely to exceed £300,000.
Register for GST
Overseas retailers
From 1 July 2023 If you're an overseas retailer or an online marketplace, who sells goods to non-business consumers in Jersey and despatches those goods from overseas, you must be registered for GST if your turnover from these sales exceeds £300,000 per annum or is likely to exceed £300,000 per annum.
Overseas retailers and GST guidance notes
Register for GST
GST liability
You are liable for any GST that should have been collected from the date you were first required to register, whether or not you registered on that date.
GST taxed on goods and services
All the goods I sell are zero-rated
If your company only makes zero-rated sales, you can apply to be exempt from registering for GST.
If we exempt your company from registering, you won't be required to complete GST returns or charge GST on the supplies you make. However, you won't be able to recover any input tax or import tax that you are charged by other companies.
For more information on the exemption process, see Schedule 1, paragraph 20 of the GST law.
Goods and Services Tax (Jersey) Law 2007 on Jersey Law website
Voluntary registration for GST
If you are a business in Jersey or an overseas retailer under the threshold, you can apply for voluntary registration.
Jersey businesses
Being registered means you can recover any GST you incur on purchases and expenses for your business. You will, however, have to charge GST on the supplies you make and maintain books and records as detailed in the factsheet.
Before you apply for voluntary registration, you should carefully consider whether it will be beneficial to your business and discuss it with a professional tax advisor.
Overseas retailers
Once registered you will need to apply and pay GST on your sales and complete GST returns. Once you are registered with Jersey customs your customers won't need to pay GST on importation.
Overseas retailers and GST guidance notes
The only supplies I make are exempt
If the only supplies of goods or services you make are exempt, you don't need to register for GST.
Exempt supplies for GST
The GST legal entity
The 'registered person' for GST is the legal entity that owns your business, such as the:
- sole proprietor
- partnership (including husband and wife partnerships)
- limited company
Each registration covers all of the business activities of the registered person.
I am registered for UK VAT
UK VAT is entirely separate from GST registration and won't affect your GST registration.
I am taking over a business
If the business you are taking over is trading at a level above the threshold for registration, then you will need to register. It doesn't matter whether or not the last owner was registered.
Your effective date of registration will be the day you take over the business.
I am not registered for GST
If you are not registered for GST:
- you must not charge GST to your customers
- you cannot reclaim any GST incurred on your business expenses
If you are not registered but are required to be and you charge GST to your customers, you will be in breach of the GST law.
Charging GST, completing returns and record retention
Once registered, you must charge GST to your customers on all standard-rated items.
You will be required to make GST returns and pay any GST due within one month of the end of the quarterly period to which it relates. If you fail to do so you may have to pay a financial penalty, together with any interest on the GST you haven't paid.
You will also have to maintain records of transactions for at least six years following the period to which they relate.
Your GST return
gov.je