Although there was no direct mention of the Healthcare sector yesterday, there were a raft of VAT announcements which will both directly and indirectly impact on the sector.
VAT reduction for supplies of catering and sleeping accommodation – The government will extend the temporary reduced rate of 5% VAT for goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sector until 30 September 2021. To help manage the transition back to the standard 20% rate, a 12.5% rate will apply for the subsequent six months until 31 March 2022.
This relief is not restricted to businesses operating in the UK tourism and hospitality sector. The reduced VAT relief applies to supplies of food and non-alcoholic beverages sold for on-premises consumption (e.g. in restaurants and cafes) and hot takeaway food and drinks. This will provide a helpful relief to supplies made by NHS bodies in their own café’s/canteens to encourage visitors to start using their facilities. NHS bodies will of course have to be mindful of the change in VAT rate and may need to make changes to EPoS systems to reflect the change in VAT rates. Our Healthcare VAT team are connected with our wider VAT retail and hospitality teams allowing us to provide helpful insight in order to maximise the relief and practical issues associated with system changes.
The reduced rate relief also applies to supplies of sleeping accommodation in hotels or similar establishments, which may also provide useful relief to NHS bodies who either make or receive taxable supplies of short-term accommodation (less than 28 days).
Relief for certain imported goods relating to COVID-19 – In April 2020, the Government introduced relief for imports of items of medical equipment, COVID-19 testing kits, medicine and PPE for use by state organisations and charities or philanthropic organisations in tackling the pandemic. This relief enabled such goods to be imported from outside the EU free of customs duties and VAT. It was backdated to apply from 30 January 2020, when the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ and ended on 31 December 2020. Since 1 January 2021, tariffs on medical products used to help fight against coronavirus have been suspended by the government in the fight against the pandemic, lowering costs on these critical items for organisations across the UK.
From 1 January 2021, NHS bodies will be required to account for import VAT on imported goods relating to COVID-19 (imported from EU and non-EU). Import VAT will be incurred when the goods are either cleared at Customs or accounted for on the Trust’s VAT return if the Trust operates PIVA. The continued relief on tariffs will be welcomed by NHS bodies.
Interest and penalty reform – The government will reform the penalty regime for VAT to make it fairer and more consistent. The new late submission regime will be points-based, and a financial penalty will only be issued when the relevant threshold is reached. The new late payment regime will introduce penalties proportionate to the amount of tax owed and how late the tax due is. The Government will introduce a new approach to interest charges and repayment interest to align VAT with other tax regimes. These reforms will come into effect for VAT taxpayers, from periods starting on or after 1 April 2022.
Other VAT announcements in the 2021 budget and 2020 budget announcements coming into effect from 1 January 2021 include:
VAT on electronic publications – At Budget 2020, the government announced it would legislate to apply a permanent zero rate of VAT to supplies of electronic publications from 1 December 2020 to support literacy and reading in all its forms. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and to help reduce the cost of access to electronic publications when many people have been confined to their homes and schools closed.
We are working with NHS bodies to explore opportunities for retrospective claims to be stood behind the ongoing VAT case in News Corp UK & Ireland Ltd.
VAT Deferral Payment Scheme – Any business that took advantage of the original VAT deferral on VAT returns from 20 March through to the end of June 2020 can now opt to use the VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme to pay that deferred VAT in up to eleven equal payments from March 2021, rather than one larger payment due by 31 March 2021, as originally announced. It was also announced that a new penalty would be introduced of 5% of the amount of deferred VAT that is outstanding if businesses have not paid in full, opted into the New Payment Scheme or made alternative arrangement to pay by 30 June 2021.
This unlikely to be of benefit to the NHS but may be relevant for any NHS subsidiaries or private healthcare operators who deferred VAT payments due up to 30 June 2020.
VAT postponed accounting (PIVA) – From 1 January 2021 postponed accounting for VAT will apply to all imports of goods, including from the EU. This will provide an important boost to those VAT registered UK businesses which are integrated in international supply chains as they adapt to the UK’s position as an independent trading nation. This will be a welcome reprieve for businesses currently paying the import VAT at the time of import (i.e. not currently enjoying deferment). This will mean for example NHS bodies importing medical equipment or drugs, will be delaying the VAT payable on the import until the relevant VAT return.
We are aware currently supporting NHS bodies who are experiencing issues with using PIVA, which has resulted in additional charges being incurred from Customs Agents.
VAT on women’s sanitary products – From 1 January 2021 the government will use freedom from EU law to enable a zero rate of VAT to be charged on women’s sanitary products.
