VATEDU15000 - The law

Up to when the UK left the EU, the relevant EU legal provisions were:

The Principal VAT Directive (EC directive 2006/112), Articles 131, 132 (i) and (j), 133 and 134 EC 6th VAT Directive, Articles 13A1(i) and (j) and 13(A) (2) (a)),

The relevant UK legal provisions are:

The VAT Act 1994, Schedule 9 (Exemptions), Group 6, which reads as follows.

Item No.

1. The provision by an eligible body of -

(a) education;

(b) omitted by SI 2013 No 1897; or

(c) vocational training.

2. The supply of private tuition, in a subject ordinarily taught in a school or university, by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer.

3. The provision of examination services -

(a) by or to an eligible body; or

(b) to a person receiving education or vocational training which is-

(i) exempt by virtue of items 1, 2, 5 or 5A; or

(ii) provided otherwise than in the course or furtherance of a business.

4. The supply of any goods or services (other than examination services) which are closely related to a supply of a description falling within item 1 (the principal supply) by or to the eligible body making the principal supply provided -

(a) the goods or services are for the direct use of the pupil, student or trainee (as the case may be) receiving the principal supply; and

(b) where the supply is to the eligible body making the principal supply, it is made by another eligible body.

5. The provision of vocational training, and the supply of any goods or services essential thereto by the person providing the vocational training, to the extent that the consideration payable is ultimately a charge to funds provided pursuant to arrangements made under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973, section 1A of the Employment and Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 or section 2 of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990.

5A. The provision of education or vocational training and the supply, by the person providing that education or training, of any goods or services essential to that provision, to the extent that the consideration payable is ultimately a charge to funds provided by

(a) repealed by the Education Act 2011;

(b) omitted by the Deregulation Act 2015;

(c) the National Assembly for Wales under Part ii of the learning and Skills Act 2000.

5B. The provision of education or vocational training and the supply, by the person providing that education or training, of any goods or services essential to that provision, to persons who are—

(a) aged under 19,

(b) aged 19 or over, in respect of education or training begun by them when they were aged under 19,

(c) aged 19 or over and for whom an EHC plan is maintained,

(c) aged 19 or over but under 25 and subject to learning difficulty assessment, or

(d) aged 25 or over, in respect of education or training begun by them when they were within paragraph (c),

to the extent that the consideration payable is ultimately a charge to funds provided by the Secretary of State.

5C. The provision of education or vocational training and the supply, by the person providing that education or training, of any goods or services essential to that provision, to persons who are aged 19 or over, to the extent that the consideration payable is ultimately a charge to funds provided by the Secretary of State in exercise of functions under Part 4 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

6. The provision of facilities by-

(a) a youth club or an association of youth clubs to its members; or

(b) an association of youth clubs to members of a youth club which is a member of that association.

Notes:

(1) For the purposes of this Group an ‘eligible body’ is -

(a) a school within the meaning of The Education Act 1996, the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 or the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, which is -

(i) provisionally or finally registered or deemed to be registered as a school within the meaning of the aforesaid legislation in a register of independent schools; or

(ii) a school in respect of which of which grants are made by the Secretary of State to the proprietor or managers; or

(iii) a community, foundation or voluntary school within the meaning of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, a special school within the meaning of section 337 of the Education Act 1996 or a maintained school within the meaning of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986; or

(iv) a public school within the meaning of section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980; or

(v) omitted

(vi) a self-governing school within the meaning of section 1(3) of the Self-Governing Schools (Scotland) Act 1989; or

(vii) omitted

(viii) a grant-maintained integrated school within the meaning of Article 65 of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;

(b) a United Kingdom university, and any college, institution, school or hall of such a university;

(c) an institution -

(i) falling within section 91(3)(a) or (b) or section 91(5)(b) or (c) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992; or

(ii) which is a designated institution as defined in section 44(2) of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992; or

(iii) managed by a board of management as defined in section 36(1) of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992; or

(iv) to which grants are paid by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland under Article 66(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;

(d) a public body of a description in Note (5) to Group 7 below;

(e) a body which -

(i) is precluded from distributing and does not distribute any profit it makes; and

(ii) applies any profits made from supplies of a description within this Group to the continuance or improvement of such supplies.

(f) a body not falling within paragraphs (a) to (e) above which provides the teaching of English as a foreign language.

(2) A supply by a body, which is an eligible body only by virtue of falling within Note (1)(f), shall not fall within this Group insofar as it consists of the provision of anything other than the teaching of English as a foreign language.

(3) ‘Vocational training’ means -

training, re-training or the provision of work experience for -

(a) any trade, profession or employment; or

(b) any voluntary work connected with -

(i) education, health, safety, or welfare; or

(ii) the carrying out of activities of a charitable nature.

(4) ‘Examination services’ include the setting and marking of examinations, the setting of educational or training standards, the making of assessments and other services provided with a view to ensuring educational and training standards are maintained.

(5) For the purposes of item 5 a supply of any goods or services shall not be taken to be essential to the provision of vocational training unless the goods or services in question are provided directly to the trainee.

(5A) For the purposes of item 5A a supply of any goods or services shall not be taken to be essential to the provision of education or vocational training unless -

(a) in the case of the provision of education, the goods and services are provided directly to the person receiving the education;

(b) in the case of the provision of vocational training, the goods or services are provided directly to the person receiving the training.

(6) For the purpose of item 6 a club is a ‘youth club’ if-

(a) it is established to promote the social, physical, educational or spiritual development of its members;

(b) its members are mainly under 21 years of age; and

(c) it satisfies the requirements of Note (1)(f)(i) and (ii)

And

• The Value Added Tax (Education) Order 2013 (Statutory Instrument Number 1897) which states

1 (1) This Order may be cited as the Value Added Tax (Education) Order 2013.

(2) This Order comes into force on 1 August 2013, but it does not apply to a supply of services to which paragraph (3) applies.

(3) This paragraph applies to a supply of services made pursuant to a written contract entered into before 1s t August 2013 if the supply is within the scope of that contract as it stood immediately before that date.

• Amendment of Group 6 of Schedule 9 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994

2 In Group 6 (b) of Schedule 9 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (exemptions: education), in item 1, omit paragraph (b) (but not the ‘or’ after it).