Liability ― water and sewage

Produced by a Tolley Value Added Tax expert
Value Added Tax
Guidance

Liability ― water and sewage

Produced by a Tolley Value Added Tax expert
Value Added Tax
Guidance
imgtext

This guidance note looks at the liability of supplies connected with water and sewage.

For an overview of VAT liability more broadly, see the Liability ― overview guidance note.

In-depth commentary on the legislation related to supplies of water and sewerage services is contained in De Voil Indirect Tax Service V4.271.

Water, sewage and connected services ― the basics

Liability of supplies of water

When considering the liability of supplies of water it is helpful to make a distinction between:

  1. water supplied for industrial activities

  2. water supplied for non-industrial activities

Water for industrial activities

Water which is supplied for what the VAT legislation calls a ‘relevant industrial activity’ will be standard-rated. The supplier is responsible for determining who is using the water and the correct VAT treatment of the supply made.

A relevant industrial activity is one of the activities described in Divisions 1–5 of the 1980 edition of the Standard Industrial Classification. The five divisions are:

  1. energy and water supply industries

  2. extraction of minerals and ores other than fuels;

Continue reading the full document
To gain access to additional expert tax guidance, workflow tools, generative tax AI, and tax research, register for a free trial of Tolley+™
Powered by Tolley+
  • 29 Jul 2025 10:00

Popular Articles

Special rate pool and long life assets

Special rate pool and long life assetsSpecial rate poolExpenditure on some types of plant or machinery must, if neither annual investment allowance (AIA) nor first year allowances (FYAs) are available, be allocated to a ‘special rate pool’. Expenditure to be allocated to the special rate pool

14 Jul 2020 13:41 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more

Corporate interest restriction ― administrative aspects

Corporate interest restriction ― administrative aspectsThe corporate interest restriction (CIR) regime has some specific administrative rules in addition to the general administrative requirements for corporation tax returns. This guidance note does not include commentary on provisions that are

14 Jul 2020 11:19 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more

Indexation allowance and rebasing

Indexation allowance and rebasingThis guidance note explains the general rules surrounding the availability of indexation allowance (which was frozen at December 2017) on the disposal of company assets and provides information on the rebasing rules for assets held on 31 March 1982. For an overview

14 Jul 2020 11:59 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more