VATMARG02050 - Basic principles: What this section is for

VATMARG02000 provides guidance on the Margin Scheme which can be used for supplies of second-hand goods, works of art, antiques and collectors’ items.

Goods imported into the UK cannot be sold under the Margin Scheme in Great Britain, except for works of art, antiques, collectors’ items where the seller is the importer and for works of art obtained directly from creators or their heirs.

Goods supplied in Northern Ireland can be sold under the Margin Scheme if they were in the EU or Northern Ireland when they were bought by the seller. This is because, the Northern Ireland Protocol means that Northern Ireland maintains alignment with the EU VAT rules for goods.

However, second-hand motor vehicles and works of art, antiques, collectors’ items and works of art obtained from creators or their heirs can still be sold under the Margin Scheme in Northern Ireland if they were purchased by the seller in Great Britain and imported into Northern Ireland.

The Margin Scheme provides the basis for the other two schemes referred to in this guidance,

• the global accounting scheme, and
• the auctioneers’ scheme;

and therefore the guidance contained in VATMARG02000 is relevant to all three schemes.