The Value Added Tax (Disclosure of Avoidance Schemes) (Designations) (Amendment) Order 2005

• Citation: S.I. 2005/1724
• Sections: 4

Section 1 Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Value Added Tax (Disclosure of Avoidance Schemes) (Designations) (Amendment) Order 2005 and comes into force on 1st August 2005.

Section 2 Citation and commencement

The Value Added Tax (Disclosure of Avoidance Schemes) (Designations) Order 2004 is amended as follows.

Section 3 Designation of avoidance schemes

At the end of Schedule 1 insert—

(a) the service is used, or intended to be used, in whole or in part, by the non-UK recipient or any other person belonging in another member State for the purposes of supplying a relevant service to a person belonging in the United Kingdom (the retail supply);

(b) the recipient of the retail supply uses a face-value voucher issued by a person belonging in a country other than the United Kingdom to obtain that supply;

(c) the person making the retail supply does not account for VAT on that supply in the United Kingdom or any other member State; and

(d) the UK supplier and the person making the retail supply are connected persons.

(1) “Face-value voucher” means tokens, stamps or vouchers of a description falling within paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 10A to the Act (face-value vouchers).

(2) “Relevant service” means a supply of a description specified in any of paragraphs 7A to 7C of Schedule 5 to the Act (services supplied where received).

(3) References in this scheme to the retail supply shall not include any supply of a relevant service made to a taxable person.

(a) the occupier or any person connected to him is a relevant person;

(b) the building is a capital item for the purposes of regulation 113 of the Value Added Tax Regulations 1995;

(c) before the surrender the occupier paid relevant VAT and was not entitled to full credit for, or refund of, that VAT under any provision of the Act or regulations;

(d) following the surrender the occupier continues to occupy at least 80% of the area previously occupied; and

(e) following the surrender the occupier pays no relevant VAT or pays less than 50% of the relevant VAT paid before the surrender.

(1) Relevant lease, tenancy or licence to occupy means any lease of, tenancy of or licence to occupy the building granted or assigned to the occupier where—

(a) an election under paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 (election to waive exemption) has been made in relation to the building; and

(b) that election has not been revoked in accordance with paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 10 .

(2) Relevant person means any person who—

(a) is a lessor of the building;

(b) is an owner of the building for the purposes of regulation 113 of the VAT Regulations 1995 ; and

(c) has made an election under paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 in relation to the building.

(3) Relevant VAT means VAT on rent paid or payable by the occupier in relation to the building.

(4) Surrender includes any termination by the occupier of the relevant lease, tenancy or licence to occupy where he has entered into any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether legally binding or not) with the lessor regarding that termination.

(5) Building includes any part of that building.

Section 4 Designation of provision included in or associated with avoidance schemes

In Schedule 2 after paragraph 7 insert—

Issue of face-value vouchers

(8)

(1) The issue of face-value vouchers for consideration.

(2) Paragraph 1 does not apply where—

(a) the issuer expects, on reasonable grounds, that at least 75% of the face-value of the vouchers will be redeemed within three years of the date on which the vouchers were issued; and

(b) the vouchers were issued to relevant persons.

(3) A relevant person is

(a) any person who is not connected with the issuer; or

(b) any body corporate—

(i) which is a member of the same VAT group as the issuer for the purposes of section 43 of the Act; and

(ii) which does not intend to supply the vouchers, directly or indirectly, to any person connected with the issuer outside that VAT group.

(4) “Face-value vouchers” means tokens, stamps or vouchers of a description falling within paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 10A to the Act (face-value vouchers) and “face-value” has the meaning given by paragraph 1(2) of that Schedule.