UK email rules treat a person and a company differently.

The rules that matter here

Marketing email, texts and calls

• The ICO says you must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals without specific consent, apart from a limited 'soft opt-in' for existing customers.^[1]
• The soft opt-in applies only where the person bought, or negotiated to buy, a similar product or service from you, and you gave a simple way to opt out when you collected their details and in every message. It does not cover prospects or bought-in lists.^[1]
• The ICO says you can email or text a corporate body (a company, Scottish partnership, LLP or government body), but recommends keeping a do-not-contact list for businesses that object.^[1]
• For live marketing calls, the ICO checklist expects you to screen numbers against the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or, for corporate subscribers, the Corporate TPS (CTPS), and to keep your own do-not-call list.^[2]

Personal data

• The ICO says a restricted transfer of personal data out of the UK must be covered by UK adequacy regulations, by appropriate safeguards (such as the IDTA or the International Data Transfer Addendum, with a transfer risk assessment), or by a narrow Article 49 exception.^[3]

Billing across borders

• HMRC VAT Notice 741A: for business-to-business services under the general rule, the supply is made where the customer belongs. A UK business that receives such services from a supplier outside the UK accounts for UK VAT itself under the reverse charge (if it is VAT-registered and the supply is not exempt).^[4] Note: Page last updated September 29, 2022 per its own history. Confirm current wording with HMRC or an accountant.

Time zone and language

One time zone: GMT in winter, BST in summer. It is ahead of US Eastern time and behind the UAE. Languages: English. Our own context, not a sourced rule.

What buyers here ask

These answers draw only on the sources listed on this page, last verified 2026-10-02.