I know how you feel, I've been there :-) Annoyingly, I enjoy reading laws and laundry lists of arcane rules, so have a "reasonable" understanding of VAT law now

I know how you feel, I've been there :-) Annoyingly, I enjoy reading laws and laundry lists of arcane rules, so have a "reasonable" understanding of VAT law now and, yes, it's HORRIBLE and frequently contradicts itself (as does HMRC generally). The other annoying thing is many accountants are not familiar with the nuances of Internet based or digital businesses, particularly those that deal with overseas customers, so knowing the basics yourself is essential unless you get lucky (I've realized it's sorta like asking a back-end C developer a front-end JavaScript question - they have the skills to try and look it up, but it's not necessarily going to be the best advice).