VENSAV3020 - Energy-saving materials: rules applying to Great Britain with effect from 1 October 2019 until 31 March 2022 (while continuing to apply in Northern Ireland until 30 April 2023).

From 1 October 2019, new legislation came into effect and the scope of the relief was set out in amended items 1, 2 and 3 of Group 2 of Schedule 7A to the VATA 1994. These legislative changes which were reversed in GB with effect from 1 April 2022, and in NI from 1 May 2023, are explained below.

Item 1 applied the reduced rate to the supply of services of installing energy-saving materials in “residential accommodation” see VENSAV3100, where the energy-saving materials are not supplied by the person carrying out the installation.

Item 2 applied the reduced rate to the supply of services of installing energy-saving materials in “residential accommodation”, including the energy-saving materials installed, where:

  • the supply was made to a “qualifying person” see VENSAV3110 and the residential accommodation was the qualifying person’s sole or main residence;
  • the supply was made to a “relevant housing association” see VENSAV3120; or
  • the residential accommodation was a building, or part of a building, used solely for a “relevant residential purpose” see VENSAV3130.

Item 3 applied the reduced rate to supplies of services of installing energy-saving materials in residential accommodation, including the energy-saving materials installed, where the “open market value of the supply of the materials” did not exceed 60% of the “cost of the total value of the supply”, see VENSAV3150, of installing the energy-saving materials to the customer. This was known as the 60% test. In practice, it was expected that the 60% test would mainly impact on the combined installations of solar panels and batteries that store power generated by those solar panels.

Where the value of the supply of the energy-saving materials exceeded 60% (i.e. it was 61% or more using normal rounding conventions), then only the labour cost element qualified for the reduced rate (with the supply of the materials being standard rated).

During this period, wind turbines and water turbines did not qualify as energy-saving materials and so their installation did not qualify for the reduced rate. (However, the relief for both was reinstated in Great Britain with effect from 1 April 2022 and in Northern Ireland with effect from 1 May 2023).

For a summary of these changes please see VENSAV3030.

For information on the changes applying to Northern Ireland please see VENSAV3036.