IEIM902320 | Primary Address

The primary address is defined in the model rules.

For individual Sellers, it is the address of their primary residence. This is the place where the Seller normally lives or lives for most of the time if they live at more than one address. Reporting Platform Operators (RPOs) may use different terminology when collecting this information, for example, asking for a Seller’s ‘home address’. The key point is that the Seller understands they need to provide the address of the place where they normally live.

RPOs may ask for other information such as a ‘billing address’. This will often be the same as the place where the Seller normally lives, but in case of difference, the place where the Seller normally lives should be treated as the primary address.

Where the Seller is an entity, the primary address is the Seller’s registered office address. This may, or may not, be the same as their business address.

The primary address of the Seller is crucial because this must be used by the RPO to determine the country of residence of the Seller. Thus where a Seller’s primary address is in the UK, the RPO must consider the Seller to be resident in the UK. HMRC will use a Seller’s residence to determine which jurisdiction(s) to exchange the Seller’s information with, and so it is essential that RPOs ensure they collect the correct information about the Seller’s primary address.