The list of eligible contracted-out services published in December 2002 is currently being reviewed by HM Treasury. No conclusions from the review have yet been published but we understand that VAT recovery in relation to professional services is due to be changed. The perception is that the current heading 52 on the list relating to [...]
HMRC have concluded their review of the VAT liability of certain medical services following a consultation process and have issued Revenue & Customs Brief 06/07 detailing changes to the medical exemption. These will come into place on 1 May 2007. The VAT changes are likely to impact mostly upon certain commercial, non-NHS activities undertaken by [...]
Increasingly, NHS organisations are entering into arrangements with third-party suppliers to make facilities available to those suppliers to carry out private health services from NHS premises. The assumption seems to be that no VAT is due on income received by the NHS for supplying facilities, however when examined in more detail, these may include a [...]
Some VAT advisers continue to be promoting retrospective business claims going back further than three-years following various judgements that some aspects of the implementation of the three-year cap (now over ten years ago), was unlawful. Although this may be relevant to some NHS organisations, any retrospective claims are limited to the current VAT registration of [...]
Currently, some employment bereaux (typically referred to as agencies) which provide staff to the NHS act as ‘principals’, charging VAT on the whole supply, whereas others act as ‘agents’, only charging VAT on the commission element. As stated above, VAT on nursing and admin staff is generally considered recoverable in either case, however bereaux which [...]
HMRC issued ‘new’ guidance last April regarding VAT recovery on agency fees. We included this guidance in a VAT update which was sent to all of our clients. The guidance stated that VAT on agency commission fees for nurses can be recovered under COS heading 41 and VAT on agency fees for secretarial, telephone and [...]
Following consultation with the DoH and HM Treasury, Customs have now published revised guidance on the scope for VAT recovery under these two headings. This follows uncertainty about whether VAT can or cannot be recovered where property related supplies are involved. Heading 45 Heading 45 is for the operation of hospitals, healthcare establishments and healthcare [...]
Customs have published a Business Brief (13/05 note 4) relating to the VAT Tribunal’s decision in the case of University Court of the University of Glasgow. In this case, the Tribunal considered whether arrangements for the University to provide medically-registered staff to work at NHS Trusts was a supply of staff (taxable at the standard-rate) [...]
Following a recent ECJ ruling, NHS bodies may now have the opportunity to recover a higher proportion of VAT at the outset on capital schemes which have a mixture of business and non-business use. The decision which has been accepted by Customs allows a VAT registered body which has both business and non-business activities to [...]
Customs & Excise have recently announced that placing direct advertisements in newspapers, magazines, etc. is not eligible for VAT recovery under the contracted-out services rules. Although Customs insist that this is simply clarification of existing rules, it will be news to most NHS organisations that have always recovered VAT on these services. Customs have however [...]