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[h=1]Charity funded equipment for medical, veterinary etc uses[/h]
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[TD] HMRC Reference:Notice 701/6 (September 2003) [/TD]
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View Change History [/TD]
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[h=2]Contents[/h]
Foreword
Other notices on this or related subjects
1. Introduction
1.1 What is this notice about?
1.2 What's changed?
1.3 Who should read this notice?
1.4 What law covers this notice?
1.5 Terminology
2. Zero-rating goods and services bought with charitable or donated funds
2.1 The basic conditions for zero-rating
2.2 Other VAT reliefs available to charities
3. Eligible bodies
3.1 What bodies are eligible to purchase qualifying goods and services at the zero rate?
3.2 Which health bodies are eligible to receive qualifying goods and services at the zero rate?
3.3 When are the activities of a hospital or research institution carried out on a not-for-profit basis?
3.4 Charitable institutions eligible to receive qualifying goods and services at the zero rate
3.5 Are animal charities eligible bodies?
3.6 Does zero-rating apply to any qualifying goods or services purchased by any eligible body?
4. Qualifying goods and services
4.1 What goods and services qualify for zero-rating when supplied to an eligible body?
4.2 Equipment that can be zero-rated when purchased by an eligible body
4.3 Medical or veterinary research, training, diagnosis or treatment
4.4 What is an ambulance?
4.5 Parts and accessories
4.6 Which goods for use by disabled people may be zero-rated?
4.7 Which motor vehicles (other than ambulances) qualify for zero-rating?
4.8 Which rescue equipment qualifies for zero-rating?
4.9 What resuscitation training models can be zero-rated?
4.10 Repair, maintenance or installation of eligible goods
4.11 Examples of qualifying goods or services
5. Funding and Purchasing
5.1 How should the purchase be funded
6. Purchasing goods and services for donation to an eligible body
6.1 General
7. Imports, exports and intra-EC supplies
7.1 Goods purchased from outside the European Community
7.2 Goods acquired from another European Community Member State
7.3 Goods sold to eligible bodies based outside the United Kingdom
8. Evidence of eligibility for relief
8.1 How do I know if my supply is zero-rated?
8.2 Demonstrating eligibility for relief
8.3 Who is responsible for applying the correct rate of VAT?
8.4 What if suppliers get it wrong?
9. Checklist for suppliers
Do you have any comments?
Update 1 issued July 2005
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Foreword[/h]
This notice cancels and replaces Notice 701/6 (March 1997). Details of any changes to the previous version can be found in paragraph 1.2 of this notice.
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Further help and advice[/h] If you need general advice or more copies of Customs and Excise notices, please ring the
National Advice Service on
0845 010 9000. You can call between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm, Monday to Friday.
If you have
hearing difficulties, please ring the
Textphone service on
0845 000 0200.
If you would like to speak to someone in
Welsh, please ring
0845 010 0300, between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday.
All calls are charged at the local rate within the UK. Charges may differ for mobile phones.
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Other notices on this or related subjects[/h]
701/1 - Charities
701/6 (Supplement) – Charity funded equipment etc – Certificates
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1. Introduction[/h]
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1.1 What is this notice about?[/h] This notice explains:
- when goods and services purchased with charitable or donated funds by eligible bodies can be zero-rated;
- when goods and services purchased by a third party for donation to an eligible body can be zero-rated;
- what is an eligible body for the purposes of this relief; and
- the conditions that must be met before goods and services can be zero-rated.
A separate supplement to this notice is available, and contains sample declarations for completion when qualifying goods and services are purchased by, or for donation to, eligible bodies.
For details of other VAT reliefs on goods and services purchased by a charity, see Notice 701/1 Charities and Notice 701/58 Charity advertising and goods connected with collecting donations.
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1.2 What's changed?[/h] This notice has been restructured and rewritten to improve readability. Section 3 also includes details of changes to the bodies that are eligible to purchase qualifying goods or services at the zero rate of VAT. These changes were previously announced in VAT Information Sheet 08/98 Charities: Supply, repair and maintenance of relevant goods (including adapted motor vehicles).
You can access details of any changes to this notice since September 2003 on our Internet site at
HM Revenue & Customs: Home Page or by telephoning the National Advice Service on 0845 010 9000.
This notice and others mentioned are available both on paper and on our website.
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1.3 Who should read this notice?[/h] You should read this notice if you are, or if you represent a:
- hospital, health authority, research institution or one of the charitable bodies eligible for this relief;
- person, organisation or group purchasing goods or services for donation to any of the above; or
- business supplying qualifying goods or services to any of the above.
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1.4 What law covers this notice?[/h] This notice is covered in part by the VAT Act 1994:
- Section 30 provides that a supply is zero-rated if it is specified in Schedule 8 to the Act; and
- Schedule 8, Group 15 provides that certain supplies of qualifying goods and services to an eligible body, or to a person for donation to an eligible body, are zero-rated.
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1.5 Terminology[/h] The VAT law refers to people who are ‘handicapped' and defines this as "chronically sick or disabled". Some of these terms are no longer in general use and can sometimes cause offence. These terms are used in this notice only where it is essential to accurately reflect the wording of the law.
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2. Zero-rating goods and services bought with charitable or donated funds[/h]
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2.1 The basic conditions for zero-rating[/h] Goods and services are zero-rated when all of the following conditions are met:
Condition...
| Description...
|
|---|
1
| The goods and services are purchased:
- by an eligible body - see section 3; or
- for donation to an eligible body - see section 6.
|
2
| The supply is of:
- qualifying goods or services - see paragraph 4.1; or
- the repair and maintenance of qualifying goods.
|
3
| None of the restrictions detailed in paragraph 3.6 apply.
|
4
| If the supply is of medical, scientific, computer, video, sterilising, laboratory, or refrigeration equipment, this equipment is being purchased to be used by an eligible body mainly for medical or veterinary research, training, diagnosis or treatment – see paragraph 4.3.
|
5
| Where the goods or services are being purchased by an eligible body, they are paid for using charitable or donated funds - see section 5.
|
6
| The purchaser provides the supplier with a valid declaration of eligibility and/or sufficient evidence to demonstrate eligibility for the relief - see paragraph 8.2.
|
Before zero-rating any supplies of goods or services, you may wish to consult the checklist at section 9 of this notice.
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2.2 Other VAT reliefs available to charities[/h] As well as those mentioned in this notice, other goods and services purchased by a charity may qualify for zero-rating. Further details can be found in Notice 701/1 Charities and Notice 701/58 Charity advertising and goods connected with collecting donations.
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3. Eligible bodies[/h]
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3.1 What bodies are eligible to purchase qualifying goods and services at the zero rate?[/h] Subject to all of the other conditions in paragraph 2.1 being met, the following bodies can purchase qualifying goods at the zero rate:
- certain health bodies - see paragraph 3.2;
- research institutions whose activities are not carried on for profit - see paragraph 3.3;
- certain charitable institutions - see paragraph 3.4; and
- any person, group or organisation that is purchasing qualifying goods for donation to one of the eligible bodies specified in paragraph 6.1.
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3.2 Which health bodies are eligible to receive qualifying goods and services at the zero rate?[/h] The health bodies that can purchase qualifying goods at the zero-rate are:
- NHS trusts;
- other hospitals whose activities are not carried on for profit (see paragraph 3.3);
- Strategic Health Authorities and Special Health Authorities in England;
- Health Authorities, Special Health Authorities and Local Health Boards in Wales;
- Health Boards in Scotland;
- Health and Social Services Boards in Northern Ireland;
- Primary Care Trusts;
- the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service;
- the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for Health and Social Services; and
- the Isle of Man Health Services Board.
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3.3 When are the activities of a hospital or research institution carried out on a not-for-profit basis?[/h] A hospital or research institution carries out its activities on a not-for-profit basis when it meets both of the following conditions:
Condition
| Description
|
|---|
1
| it cannot, and does not, distribute any profit achieved; and
|
2
| it applies any surplus that arises from supplies of hospital or research services to the furtherance of its objectives.
|
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3.4 Charitable institutions eligible to receive qualifying goods and services at the zero rate[/h] 3.4.1 Charities that are eligible bodies
A charitable institution is an eligible body when it is…
| and it…
|
|---|
A charitable day centre
|
- does not exist primarily as a place for social and/or recreational activities; and
- provides care or medical or surgical treatment, where over an extended period of time the majority of the recipients are chronically sick or disabled people - see paragraphs 3.4.2 and 3.4.3.
NOTE: A charitable day centre or care establishment may still be an eligible body if, for a temporary period, chronically sick or disabled people form less than 50% of the recipients of care or treatment services, provided that over the extended period, the majority of recipients are chronically sick or disabled.
Examples include charitable physiotherapy centres for disabled children, and charitable centres that run rehabilitation or training classes for disabled adults.
Only qualifying goods used for an eligible purpose can be zero-rated to charitable day centres – see paragraph 3.6.
|
Any other charitable establishment
|
- provides institutional care, or medical or surgical treatment, where the majority of the recipients are chronically sick or disabled people - see paragraphs 3.4.2 and 3.4.3; and
- is approved, licensed or registered under the relevant social legislation with the appropriate regulatory body for care standards; or is exempted from obtaining such registration by the relevant legislation.
Examples include charitable hospices and residential care homes.
Only qualifying goods used for an eligible purpose can be zero-rated to these charitable establishments – see paragraph 3.6 for restrictions.
|
A charitable domiciliary care provider
| provides medical, personal or nursing care services to disabled people in their own homes - see paragraphs 3.4.3 and 3.4.4.
Only certain qualifying goods can be zero-rated to charitable domiciliary care providers - see paragraph 3.6 for restrictions.
|
Any charity that
|
- provides rescue or first aid services for humans or animals;·
- provides transport services mainly to disabled people; or·
- has as its sole purpose and function the provision of a range of services for, or on behalf of, chronically sick or disabled people. Examples include charities established to: provide care or welfare services to disabled people; lobby on behalf of disabled people; or fund medical research into the causes, prevention or cure of disablement.
|
Bodies that are
not eligible to purchase qualifying goods and services zero-rated under this relief include:
- day centres, residential care homes or providers of home care services that are not charities; and
- day centres, residential care homes or providers of home care services, where over an extended period the majority of the recipients of care provided are not chronically sick or disabled people.
Any charity that is not an eligible body may still purchase certain goods and services zero-rated under separate VAT reliefs. For further details see Notice 701/1 Charities and Notice 701/58 Charity advertising and goods connected with collecting donations.
3.4.2 Care or medical or surgical treatment. This includes protection, treatment, supervision, control or guidance that is provided to meet medical, physical, personal or domestic needs of an individual. Care or treatment will usually involve some personal contact between the provider and recipient. Examples include:
- helping a person with daily personal needs such as bathing, dressing, feeding or toileting;
- medical or surgical treatment;
- nursing sick or injured patients in a hospital, hospice or nursing home; and
- looking after or supervising vulnerable people.
For the purposes of this relief, catering, laundry and other services that do not require direct contact with the recipient are
not care or medical or surgical treatment.
3.4.3 Chronically sick or disabled
Chronic sickness is a condition regarded as such by the medical profession.
Disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out day-to-day activities.
Frail elderly people who are not disabled, or people whose mobility is temporarily impaired by short-term illness or injury are not chronically sick or disabled for the purposes of this VAT relief.
3.4.4 Medical, personal or nursing care
This includes medical treatment and the sort of care that a nurse might carry out or supervise – such as washing or feeding a patient, helping a patient out of bed, and administering drugs.
It does not include assistance with general domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning or shopping.
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3.5 Are animal charities eligible bodies?[/h] Yes, if they either:
- provide rescue or first aid services to animals; or
- are animal hospitals providing "in-patient" facilities.
Animal clinics or surgeries are not eligible bodies for the relief unless they are part of an animal hospital, or are run by a charity that also provides rescue or first aid services.
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3.6 Does zero-rating apply to any qualifying goods or services purchased by any eligible body? [/h] No. There are restrictions on the qualifying goods that some eligible bodies can purchase zero-rated. These restrictions are detailed below:
Eligible body
| Restrictions on use
|
|---|
Charitable day centres
or
Charitable establishments providing care or medical or surgical treatment
| Zero-rating applies only when qualifying goods or services are for use within the day centre or care establishment.
Goods or services purchased for a more general use are not zero-rated under this relief.
|
Charitable domiciliary care providers
| Zero-rating applies only to:
- medical equipment that is used in the course of domiciliary care;
- parts/accessories of such medical equipment; or
- repair/ maintenance of such medical equipment.
- is not available to domiciliary care providers for any other qualifying goods or services.
|
These restrictions also apply when the goods are purchased for donation to one of these eligible bodies.
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4. Qualifying goods and services[/h]
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4.1 What goods and services qualify for zero-rating when supplied to an eligible body?[/h] Subject to the restrictions on use detailed in paragraph 3.6, the following goods and services are zero-rated when purchased or hired by an eligible body using charitable or donated funds:
Qualifying goods or services
| Further information
|
|---|
The following equipment when purchased mainly for medical or veterinary research, training, diagnosis or treatment:
| |
- medical equipment;
- scientific equipment;
- computer equipment and certain software;
- video equipment;
- sterilising equipment;
- laboratory equipment;
- refrigeration equipment.
| paragraph 4.2.2
paragraph 4.2.3
paragraphs 4.2.4 and 4.2.5
paragraph 4.2.6
paragraph 4.2.7
paragraph 4.2.8
paragraph 4.2.9
|
Parts and accessories for use in or with any of the above equipment.
| section 4.5
|
Ambulances and parts/accessories for use in or with ambulances.
| section 4.4 and 4.5
|
Certain goods for use by a disabled person.
| section 4.6
|
Certain motor vehicles.
| section 4.7
|
Certain rescue equipment when purchased by, or for donation to, a charity providing rescue or first aid services.
| section 4.8
|
Certain resuscitation models for use in first aid training
| section 4.9
|
Repair, maintenance or installation of qualifying goods, and any goods supplied in connection with this repair, maintenance or installation.
| section 4.10
|
When a charity purchases goods and services not detailed above, zero-rating under a separate VAT relief may still apply. For further details see Notice 701/1 Charities and Notice 701/58 Charity advertising and goods connected with collecting donations.