I am running a Hong Kong Ltd company, and recently became aware of EU VAT changes, which seemed surprising (asking a company in one country to collect tax on behalf of another country). I am additionally confused as some places talk about the law changing in 2010, others it changing in 2015, but the changes being described both sound the same.

When our company does a software development project for an individual in the U.K.: Reading Contractors' Questions: Do I add VAT to my overseas invoice? :: Contractor UK it says "if you were supplying a non-business client, the place of supply is where you are based". So in this case it is Hong Kong, and I do not have to charge VAT?

But, from January 2015 (based on my understanding of Contractors ) I have to charge VAT even to individuals?

Now, if the client is not an individual but a UK-VAT-registered Ltd company, currently I should be showing a line item on the invoice, but not collecting it. They then deal with it as a "reverse charge". Did I get that right?

And, if I've understood correctly, nothing changes in this regard in 2015?

(A UK Ltd company that is not VAT registered is treated like an individual, I guess??)

Thanks in advance for any answers or suggesting reading!

P.S. Final question, if I may: are these rules the same for all EU countries (e.g. we have a client in Germany) so I only have to understand it once, or do I have to go looking for new rules each time we get a customer in a new EU country?