Finance Act 1991

Part IV U.K. SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

General provisions about additional VAT liabilities and rebates U.K.

14 In section 159 of that Act, in subsection (2) (time when capital expenditure is incurred) after the words “capital expenditure there shall be inserted the words “(other than that constituted by an additional VAT liability) ” and after that section there shall be inserted—

“159A Additional VAT liabilities and rebates.

“159A (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, any additional VAT liability or rebate arising is to be regarded for the purposes of this Act as incurred or made on the last day of the relevant VAT interval.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above “the relevant VAT interval, in relation to an additional VAT liability or rebate, means that one of the periods of which, under the VAT capital items legislation, the VAT period of adjustment applicable to the asset in question consists, in which occurred the increase or decrease in use which gave rise to the liability or rebate.

(3) An additional VAT liability or rebate shall, for the purpose only of determining the chargeable period—

(a) for which an allowance or charge under this Act may be made in respect of that liability or rebate, or

(b) in which the amount of that liability or rebate is to be brought into account in connection with the making of such allowances or charges,

be regarded as incurred or made at a time determined in accordance with subsection (4) below and, except for that purpose, any such liability or rebate shall not be treated as incurred or made otherwise than on the day on which it is to be regarded as incurred or made by virtue of subsection (1) above.

(4) For the purpose of determining the chargeable period referred to in subsection (3) above—

(a) where a return for the purposes of value added tax is made to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise in which the liability or rebate is accounted for, the liability or rebate shall be regarded as incurred or made in the chargeable period or its basis period which includes the last day of the period to which that return relates; but

(b) if, before any such return is made, those Commissioners assess the liability or rebate as due or repayable, then, notwithstanding paragraph (a) above, the liability or rebate shall be regarded as incurred or made on the day on which that assessment is made; and

(c) if the additional VAT liability or rebate has not been accounted for on a return for the purposes of value added tax to those Commissioners, or assessed by them for those purposes, before the trade in question has been permanently discontinued or treated by any provision of the Tax Acts as permanently discontinued, then, notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) above, the liability or rebate shall be regarded as incurred or made on the last day of the chargeable period related to the discontinuance.

(5) Where, disregarding any additional VAT liability or rebate, any allowance or charge falling to be made under this Act in respect of any capital expenditure falls, under any provision of this Act, to be determined by reference to—

(a) a proportion only of that expenditure, or

(b) a proportion only of what that allowance or charge would have been apart from that provision,

then, to the extent that so much of any allowance or charge as falls to be so made in respect of any additional VAT liability or rebate in respect of that expenditure would not (apart from this subsection) fall to be determined by reference to that proportion of the liability or rebate or, as the case may be, of what that portion of the allowance or charge would otherwise have been, it shall be so determined.

(6) In this Act—

• “additional VAT liability, in relation to any capital expenditure (or any expenditure of a capital nature), means an amount which a person becomes liable to pay by way of adjustment under any VAT capital items legislation in respect of input tax on an asset on the construction or provision of which the expenditure in question was incurred in whole or in part;

• “additional VAT rebate, in relation to any capital expenditure (or any expenditure of a capital nature), means an amount which a person becomes entitled to deduct by way of adjustment under any VAT capital items legislation in respect of input tax on an asset on the construction or provision of which the expenditure in question was incurred in whole or in part;

• “VAT capital items legislation means any provisions of any Act or instrument (whenever passed or made) which provide, in relation to value added tax—

(a) for the proportion of input tax on an asset of a specified description which may be deducted by a person from his output tax to be adjusted from time to time in consequence of any increase or decrease in the extent to which the asset is used by him for the making of taxable supplies, or taxable supplies of a specified class or description, over a specified period (a “VAT period of adjustment) applicable to the asset, or

(b) otherwise for the purpose of giving effect to Article 20(2) to (4) of the Sixth Directive of the Council of the European Communities on Value Added Tax, dated 17th May 1977,

and for this purpose “taxable supply has the same meaning as it has in the Value Added Tax Act 1983 by virtue of section 2(2) of that Act;

“VAT period of adjustment has the meaning given in the definition of VAT capital items legislation.

(7) In this section—

(a) “input tax and “output tax have the meaning given by section 14 of the Value Added Tax Act 1983; and

(b) in the application of subsection (4)(c) above for the purposes of Part II, the reference to the trade in question shall be construed in accordance with section 27 as that section would apply if this section were included in that Part.”