Value Added Tax Act 1983
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1983 c. 55 |
| Year | 1983 |
Value Added Tax Act 1983
1983 CHAPTER 55
An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to value added tax.
[26th July 1983]
B e it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows—
Imposition and extent of tax
1 Value added tax.
A tax, to be known as value added tax, shall be charged in accordance with the provisions of this Act on the supply of goods and services in the United Kingdom (including anything treated as such a supply) and on the importation of goods into the United Kingdom.
2 Scope of tax.
(1) Tax shall be charged on any supply of goods or services made in the United Kingdom, where it is a taxable supply made by a taxable person in the course or furtherance of any business carried on by him.
(2) A person who makes or intends to make taxable supplies is a taxable person while he is or is required to be registered under this Act; and a taxable supply is a supply of goods or services made in the United Kingdom other than an exempt supply.
(3) Tax on any supply of goods or services is a liability of the person making the supply and (subject to provisions about accounting and payment) becomes due at the time of supply.
(4) Tax on the importation of goods shall be charged and payable as if it were a duty of customs.
(5) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to registration.
Supply
3 Meaning of ‘supply’: alteration by Treasury order.
(1) Schedule 2 to this Act shall apply for determining what is, or is to be treated as, a supply of goods or a supply of services.
(2) Subject to any provision made by that Schedule and to Treasury orders under subsections (3) to (6) below—
( a ) ‘supply’ in this Act includes all forms of supply, but not anything done otherwise than for a consideration;
( b ) anything which is not a supply of goods but is done for a consideration (including, if so done, the granting, assignment or surrender of any right) is a supply of services.
(3) The Treasury may by order provide with respect to any description of transaction—
( a ) that it is to be treated as a supply of goods and not as a supply of services; or
( b ) that it is to be treated as a supply of services and not as a supply of goods; or
( c ) that it is to be treated as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services;
and without prejudice to the foregoing, such an order may provide that paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 2 to this Act is not to apply, in relation to goods of any prescribed description used or made available for use in prescribed circumstances, so as to make that a supply of services under that paragraph.
(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, the Treasury may by order make provision for securing, with respect to services of any description specified in the order, that where—
( a ) a person carrying on a business does anything which is not a supply of services but would, if done for a consideration, be a supply of services of a description specified in the order; and
( b ) such other conditions as may be specified in the order are satisfied.
such services are treated for the purposes of this Act as being supplied by him in the course or furtherance of that business.
(5) The Treasury may by order make provision for securing, subject to any exceptions provided for by or under the order, that where in such circumstances as may be specified in the order goods of a description so specified are acquired or produced by a person in the course or furtherance of a business carried on by him and—
( a ) are neither supplied to another person nor incorporated in other goods produced in the course or furtherance of that business; but
( b ) are used by him for the purpose of a business carried on by him,
the goods are treated for the purposes of this Act as being both supplied to him for the purpose of that business and supplied by him in the course or furtherance of it.
(6) The Treasury may by order make provision for securing, with respect to services of any description specified in the order, that where—
( a ) a person, in the course or furtherance of a business carried on by him, does anything for the purpose of that business which is not a supply of services but would, if done for a consideration, be a supply of services of a description specified in the order; and
( b ) such other conditions as may be specified in the order are satisfied,
such services are treated for the purposes of this Act as being both supplied to him for the purpose of that business and supplied by him in the course or furtherance of it.
(7) For the purposes of this section, where goods are manufactured or produced from any other goods those other goods shall be treated as incorporated in the first-mentioned goods.
(8) An order under subsection (4) or (6) above may provide for the method by which the value of any supply of services which is treated as taking place by virtue of the order is to be calculated.
4 Time of supply.
(1) The provisions of this section and section 5 below shall apply for determining the time when a supply of goods or services is to be treated as taking place for the purposes of the charge to tax.
(2) Subject to the provisions of section 5 below, a supply of goods shall be treated as taking place—
( a ) if the goods are to be removed, at the time of the removal;
( b ) if the goods are not to be removed, at the time when they are made available to the person to whom they are supplied.
( c ) if the goods (being sent or taken on approval or sale or return or similar terms) are removed before it is known whether a supply will take place, at the time when it becomes certain that the supply has taken place or, if sooner, 12 months after the removal.
(3) Subject to the provisions of section 5 below, a supply of services shall be treated as taking place at the time when the services are performed.
5 Further provisions relating to time of supply.
(1) If, before the time applicable under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of section 4 above, the person making the supply issues a tax invoice in respect of it or if, before the time applicable under paragraph ( a ) or ( b ) of subsection (2) or subsection (3) of that section, he receives a payment in respect of it, the supply shall, to the extent covered by the invoice or payment, be treated as taking place at the time the invoice is issued or the payment is received.
(2) If, within 14 days after the time applicable under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of section 4 above, the person making the supply issues a tax invoice in respect of it, then, unless he has notified the Commissioners in writing that he elects not to avail himself of this subsection, the supply shall (to the extent that it is not treated as taking place at the time mentioned in subsection (1) above) be treated as taking place at the time the invoice is issued.
(3) The Commissioners may, at the request of a taxable person, direct that subsection (2) above shall apply in relation to supplies made by him (or such supplies made by him as may be specified in the direction) as if for the period of 14 days there were substituted such longer period as may be specified in the direction.
(4) Where a taxable person provides a document to himself which—
( a ) purports to be a tax invoice in respect of a supply of goods or services to him by another taxable person; and
( b ) is in accordance with regulations under paragraph 2 of Schedule 7 to this Act treated as the tax invoice required by the regulations to be provided by the supplier,
subsections (2) and (3) above shall have effect in relation to that supply as if—
(i) the provision of the document to himself by the first-mentioned taxable person were the issue by the supplier of a tax invoice in respect of the supply; and
(ii) any notice of election given or request made by the first-mentioned taxable person for the purposes of those provisions had been given or made by the supplier.
(5) The Commissioners may, at the request of a taxable person, by direction alter the time at which supplies made by him (or such supplies made by him as may be specified in the direction) are to be treated as taking place, either—
( a ) by directing those supplies to be treated as taking place—
(i) at times or on dates determined by or by reference to the occurrence of some event described in the direction; or
(ii) at times or on dates determined by or by reference to the time when some event so described would in the ordinary course of events occur,
the resulting times or dates being in every case earlier than would otherwise apply; or
( b ) by directing that, notwithstanding subsections (2) and (3) above, those supplies shall (to the extent that they are not treated as taking place at...
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