When a UK supplier (Global Kinect Ltd, Companies House 16852789, VAT GB513719302, registered in England and Wales) supplies MENA payroll services to a UK or Irish business, standard UK B2B place-of-supply rules apply to the management fee. Your finance team treats the invoice as it would any UK supplier invoice. Statutory pass-through costs (employer contributions, end-of-service provisions, insurance premiums) sit outside the service supply — they're costs of employing in the relevant jurisdiction, passed through at cost rather than as a service line.
The two-component structure
MENA payroll services delivered from a UK supplier carry two distinct cost components. The management fee is the supplier's charge for running the service — calculation, file generation, audit trail, account management. The statutory pass-through is the cost of employing in the relevant jurisdiction — employer GOSI contributions, EOSB accruals, mandatory health insurance premiums, similar.
The distinction matters for VAT and procurement classification. The management fee is a service supply; place-of-supply rules apply. The statutory pass-through is a cost recharge — it's not a separate service supply, it's the local-jurisdiction cost passed through.
Place of supply for the management fee
Under standard UK VAT B2B place-of-supply rules (the general rule), the place of supply for B2B services is where the customer belongs. For a UK or Irish business buying services from a UK supplier, that's the UK or Ireland — UK VAT applies on the UK supplier's invoice in the standard way for UK customers.
For procurement classification, your finance team treats the invoice as it would any UK supplier invoice — UK VAT-registered supplier (GB513719302), standard payment terms, standard procurement workflow. No special handling required because the underlying service relates to MENA operations.
Pass-through costs sit outside the supply
Statutory employer costs (GOSI for Saudi clients, GPSSA for UAE clients, social insurance contributions in Egypt and elsewhere, EOSB liability movement, insurance premiums) are costs of employing in the relevant jurisdiction. They're settled in local currency at the cycle-date FX rate.
These aren't a service supply from the UK supplier — they're a recharge of the local cost. The supplier funds the local payment from your settlement and the recharge is reflected on a separate line. Your finance team treats this as a cost recharge rather than a service line; VAT treatment of recharges varies by jurisdiction and engagement structure.
What to confirm during onboarding
Three things to lock down with your specialist's onboarding team. First, invoicing currency for the management fee — sterling on request for UK and Irish clients. Second, recharge structure for statutory pass-through — typically per cycle, in local currency, at the cycle-date rate. Third, procurement-classification fit — make sure your finance team sees the invoice in their standard UK B2B supplier workflow rather than as an unusual cross-border arrangement that triggers manual handling.