Clement Keys
Chartered Accountants

Chartered accountant Clement Keys has welcomed the decision by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to rule that the collection of trade waste by local authorities is a non-business activity and free from VAT, as this will help to reduce costs for a wide variety of organisations.

“This ruling will not affect the majority of VAT registered businesses, because they will have recovered in full any input VAT they have paid, but it is very good news for charities, businesses in the financial, insurance, education, healthcare, sport and property management sectors and unregistered firms, for whom the VAT element of their bills represents a real cost,” says Director of VAT Services Steven Simmonds.
 
Following a lengthy and detailed review, HMRC’s Policy Branch has determined that trade waste collection services provided by local authorities are non-business supplies so are not, and never should have been, subject to VAT. 
 
“Local authorities will have already implemented this change for future supplies, but there is scope for businesses that have been using these waste collection services to recover the VAT they have paid,” adds Mr Simmonds.
 
“Under current guidance businesses can typically claim back VAT payments over at least four years, but previous decisions suggest claims on council waste collections could go back even further, so we would urge any organisation affected by this ruling to act now.”
 
Clement Keys specialise in services to the not-for-profit sector and are advising charities, partially exempt businesses and unregistered firms that have been charged VAT on their local authority waste collection services to write to their council seeking a credit note and a refund of the VAT overpaid.
 
This decision by HM Revenue & Customs only impacts on waste services provided by local authorities, so businesses which go to commercial providers for their trade waste collection will still have to pay VAT on these services.