The rules for determining where a consumer is when they purchase a download from a website seem to be confusing. I rang HMRC who first told me that the physical place where the buyer is should be used. So if the users IP address is in Spain then charge VAT for Spain. I asked them what do I do then if their credit card billing address is in the UK. Initially she kept saying that it is the physical location of the buyer that matters. I then asked how then can I keep 2 pieces of non contradictory proof that he was in Spain? I have 2 pieces of proof but they contradict each other in that example. She then said that it depends if the person is on holiday in Spain or resides there. How the hell am I supposed to determine that information I asked!!! She didn’t even seem to think it was odd! Eventually I convinced her that what she was saying was nonsense even if that is the rule. She went away to check and came back stating that in all cases I can simply use the credit card billing address as proof and that is the only info I need to keep. That isn’t what the rules say as far as I can see but I confirmed with her that the call was recorded and I have the call reference ID in case they try to deny it. I thought the idea of the EU was to make doing business easier? I can sell anywhere else in the world with no hassle but not within the EU. The people that make these rules appear have no idea what they are talking about and don’t seem to care what its going to do to small businesses. Did they ever consult with small businesses about this?