HM Revenue and Customs Brief 38/12
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Issued 20 December 2012
VAT: Publication of an information gathering consultation on
the withdrawal of the exemption for business supplies of research
services between eligible bodies
Purpose of this Brief
The purpose of this Brief is to announce the publication of a
consultation on the withdrawal of the VAT exemption for business
supplies of research services between eligible bodies.
Who should read this brief
All suppliers of business research and those that commission
research.
Background
The UK has received notification from the European Commission
that its exemption for business supplies of research between eligible
bodies does not comply with European legislation. The UK has accepted
that this is the case and plans to withdraw the exemption from 1 August
2013.
HMRC have discussed the impact of withdrawal with
representative bodies but have been unable to ascertain from these
discussions the full impact on those affected.
In these discussions HMRC were informed that the impact of the
withdrawal will be minimal when compared to the totality of all
research conducted in the UK. Our best estimate is that it is likely to
affect less than one per cent by value of all research undertaken in
the UK.
The purpose of the consultation therefore is to gather
information that will allow HMRC to assess more accurately the impact
of the withdrawal of the exemption and to see whether there are any
possible options to mitigate that impact.
Who are eligible bodies?
Eligible bodies are generally Government departments, schools,
universities, charities and other public bodies. It is only supplies of
research between these bodies that will be affected. All other research
will maintain its current VAT liability.
The Consultation
The consultation document is available on the HMRC website
from 20 December 2012 under the "What's New" section.
About the Author
© Crown Copyright 2012.
A licence is needed to reproduce this article and has been republished
for educational / informational purposes only. Article reproduced by
permission of HM Revenue & Customs.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2013-01-02 13:54:51 in Tax Articles
