VAT

VAT

HMRC, the EU Commission and the Law Society of England and Wales have published guidance on the consequences for VAT and customs duty if the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement. For a general overview of the potential impact of Brexit on tax, including VAT, see Practice Note: Brexit—UK tax consequences [Archived].

What is VAT?

The UK value added tax (VAT) system is:

•
derived from the Archived Directive 2006/112/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (the Archived VAT Directive), and
•
mainly set out in the Value Added Tax Act 1994

All other EU member states also have a system of VAT, but this overview is concerned with the way the common system of VAT is implemented in the UK.

VAT is intended to be a tax on consumer expenditure, so that the ultimate burden of the tax is borne by the final user or consumer of goods or services. This is achieved by:

•
requiring each person in a chain of transactions (eg a chain from raw materials

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