25 July 2022 • 3 minute read
Country-specific updates: UK
- In a lead case for local authorities in England and Wales, the Upper Tribunal held that Chelmsford City Council was acting under a special legal regime and so was acting as a public authority within the meaning of Article 13 (1) of VAT Directive when it provided sports and leisure facilities, rather than a taxable person. The public authority was subject to legal obligations that did not apply to other operators because it was obliged to consider, for example, how sports and leisure facilities could promote social inclusion and help reduce crime and vandalism. The public authority was under various, intersecting, statutory obligations relating to the need for economy, efficiency and effectiveness in achieving best value and this affected pricing, including the setting of concessions, and location and scope of facilities. The consequence of Chelmsford City Council being held as a public authority is that the provision of sports facilities under duty is outside the scope of VAT.
- The UK tax authority (HMRC) has published the following new guidance around the post-Brexit rules on imports, exports and customs:
- New importers to register on new single customs platform – New importers need to register with the Customs Declaration Service to make their import declarations from 5 July 2022. The Customs Handling Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) has stopped accepting new registration requests from importers as it will be replaced by the Customs Declaration Service as UK’s single customs platform from 1 October 2022.
- Request Customs Declaration Service data on imports – new guidance detailing how to request and buy Customs Declaration Service data from the UK tax authority for companies that import goods.
- Safety and security requirements on imports and exports – new guidance detailing how to meet the safety and security requirements for imports and exports.
- HMRC’s guidance on repayment of overpaid import duty and VAT has been updated to confirm that VAT – registered importers cannot use form C285 to reclaim overpayments of import VAT. Instead, any adjustment must be made through VAT return, which will be subject to normal VAT rules.
- HMRC has also published / amended the following guidance around Plastic Packaging Tax that came into force on 1 April 2022:
- How to pay Plastic Packaging Tax – new guidance detailing what businesses need to pay, when the payment needs to be made and how to pay the liability to HMRC. It also provides that businesses will be interest on late payments and may also be charged penalties if they do not submit the tax returns or pay the tax on time.
- Submitting Plastic Packaging Tax return – the guidance has been updated allowing businesses to submit Plastic Packaging Tax return following a link in the guidance. New guidance has also been added on claiming tax relief and amending filed returns.