Vat invoice

It has been months since the system correctly issued VAT invoices, I've reported it many times on chat, eventually the last person I chatted to said it was only going to be shown for annual contracts!
Eventually as I threatened writing to the HMRC about it as it is a legal requirement I spoke to someone about it, they said it was being fixed but with no time frame (i.e > weeks) and there was no way to tell me when it was done!
I'm suggest you mentioned in any chat that it isn't an option for them to give you a VAT invoice, and you'll report them https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-man...rds/vatrec5080 on this if they continue to not take action.

This link actually says an invoice should be issued within 30 days

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-trader-records/vatrec6030

You can ring citizens advice (trading standards) about this via chat or phone:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/if-you-need-more-help-about-a-consumer-issue/

Martin
Well another week has gone by and no VAT invoices which makes Lebara appear somewhat unprofessional.
Why don't you make it clear on your website that VAT invoices are not available so that prospective customers can make an informed decision?

JohnN7 They have a legal requirement to give you a VAT invoice if they are collecting it, they have to track this to repay the HMRC themselves, its not like we are getting a 20% discount because they aren't putting it on the invoice unfortunately!

GraemeW200
My comment about stating VAT invoices are not available on their website was tongue in cheek because they are clearly VAT registered. As a matter of interest has anyone reported them to HMRC yet?

Apparatently, Lebara don't charge VAT - I had this from Lebara the other day. It seems strnage that HMRC allow this.
Thank you for contacting Lebara Care.
I have reviewed your request regarding the VAT information on your invoices. Lebara UK is not VAT registered, which is why your invoices do not display a VAT registration number or any VAT charges. As a result, past and future invoices will not include VAT details.
If you have any further questions or need clarification, please feel free to reply to this email and we will be happy to assist.

Kind Regards,
Lebara Mobile Limited
5th Floor, Broadwalk House, 5 Appold Street, London, United Kingdom EC2A 2DA
Registered in England & Wales under Company number 06184980

I had this from Lebara the other day. I was surprised as I thought that mobile phone service was subject to VAT.

Why do HMRC let Lebara not charge VAT when every other mobile provider who sells service in the UK has to charge VAT?

Thank you for contacting Lebara Care.
I have reviewed your request regarding the VAT information on your invoices. Lebara UK is not VAT registered, which is why your invoices do not display a VAT registration number or any VAT charges. As a result, past and future invoices will not include VAT details.
If you have any further questions or need clarification, please feel free to reply to this email and we will be happy to assist.

Kind Regards,
Lebara Mobile Limited
5th Floor, Broadwalk House, 5 Appold Street, London, United Kingdom EC2A 2DA
Registered in England & Wales under Company number 06184980

Apologies, posted twice in error and this website won't let me delete or edit - the usual poor lebara service...

whynovatinvoice
That is interesting because you can check a VAT number at the below link on the government website

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-vat-number/enter-vat-details

Enter GB100126296 and you will see it is registered to Lebara!!

Small business Lebara customer here that requires UK VAT invoices to reclaim VAT, I am sure there are thousands of others in similar situation. We currently have 3 SIMs on rolling 30 day contracts. Not sure if this VAT issue only applies to 30 day contracts? We have had our SIMS for just over a year and can confirm that VAT invoices were available for download until as recently as May 2026.
I would like to point out the following;

1. The company name on all the invoices is Lebara Mobile Limited and their UK registered company number 06184980.
2. Every month we receive renewal emails which presume is standard for all 30 day rolling plans, these all state; Plan:30GB Monthly Plan, Amount charged: £10.00 (inclusive of VAT) therefore they are surely obligated to issue UK VAT invoicing within 30 days?
3. Lebara Mobile Limited turnover in 2024 was £ 231,753,000 anyone can see this by searching Companies House https://find-and-update.company-info...ervice.gov.uk/ There are three UK holding companies in the chain above; LEBARA LIMITED 04293563 trading in Euros, then LEBARA HOLDING LIMITED 14304790, then MURRAYFIELD BIDCO UK LIMITED 15830602 which is then held by a Dutch holding company Murrayfield Midco BV
4. https://find-and-update.company-info...filing-history most recent filing history shows there are some changes happening for the 2025 accounting period and beyond and this is probably where this issue stems from.
5. The UK VAT laws dictate that Limited companies with turnover exceeding £90,000 must register for VAT, clearly Lebara exceed this threshold
6. There is no registered limited uk company called Lebara UK which is reference in post 22 above

This is a very unusual issue and something that needs to be addressed quickly by Lebara otherwise they will loose a lot of small business customers and possibly could fall foul of VAT charges by HMRC
Does anyone know if this applies to 12 month contracts or just the 30 day rolling plans?

MarkB33
We are on a 12 month plan and have experienced exactly the same problem.
Luckily I downloaded, saved and printed the April 2026 invoices and they clearly show the VAT charged and the Lebara VAT number as GB100126296, However if I now go back into payment history and download the exact same invoice, both the VAT charged and the Lebara VAT number have disappeared!!!

JohnN7
Our historical invoices have also been amended to remove the VAT and VAT number. The change appears to have happened since June which ties in with the latest filing history. See below.
Thanks for confirming this applies to 12 month plans also, we will probably have to look at alternative providers next month. Our main reasons for using Lebara are price, Vodafone network, EU Roaming incl and calls to India (we use Indian designers). I did look into other MVNOs last time but Vodafone works best in our rural location. Time to review and look elsewhere it seems.
Re the latest Cos Hse filings; searched Companies Act 2006 section 479A; https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga...6/section/479A Is there anyone on here legally minded that can provide a layman's view on what this means? I note also that the upper holding companies are trading in Euros and the directors are involved in EU Lebara companies.

Maybe we should be writing to Martin Lewis and get some national coverage about Lebara's disappearing VAT invoices.

What is also frustrating is that Lebara's own Help FAQs say they provide VAT invoices.

I have spent hours going back and forth with Lebara and their agents keep giving conflicting responses on the complaint I lodged. In fact one agent was particularly obstinate when I told him that the Lebara website section What is a vat invoice and how to download it says : "A VAT invoice is a document generated for all 30-day and 12-month SIMO plans purchased where VAT is applicable. This document details the sale of the product and the amount of VAT charged". I said to him if they are no longer providing VAT invoices then they need to update their website to reflect this. He then also referred me to their terms and conditions saying they are covered by this item : 9.5 All Charges are inclusive of VAT unless otherwise stated.
Interestingly though their renewal emails say : Amount charged: £5.00 (inclusive of VAT).
They have said there is a 'global issue' on VAT invoices and are working on it. I then asked if they can include their VAT reg number of the renewal emails as at least it says inclusive of VAT but alas that wasn't well received either even though it would just be small adjustment to the email template they use.
It seems that whoever you speak to whether its on the phone or their online agents (I have dealt with many!) really don't have a consistent response as to whether VAT invoices will or will not be issued in the future.

The s479A change is not relevant - that is about audit exemption. Nothing to do with VAT.

As has been said, they are required to be VAT registered. As such, they are required to provide VAT invoices. As has been noted, complaints can be made to HMRC for breaches of the VAT rules (requirement to provide VAT invoice).

I have submitted a complaint to Lebara. If you are affected, you may wish to do so too. Having done so, once one has a final response (or the time elapses), one may wish to escalate it to the ombudsman. If one suffers loss due to not being able to recover vat due to the failure to provide vat invoices, one could seek that money from lebara (via ombusdsman if necessary).

Re post #22 (JohnN7): Interestingly, that VAT number is registered to Lebara Limited, whereas my invoice (rolling 30 days) is with Lebara Mobile Limited. Both companies exist, but they are different companies (same group - I haven't managed to work out what each company does). Where did you find the VAT number in order to do your search (as HMRC does not have a tool to allow search by company name, and my previous invoices that were vat invoices don't actually contain a VAT number - which is another breach of the VAT rules). It would be useful if we can find a VAT number for Lebara Mobile Limited.