In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires—

• “the Act” means the Value Added Tax Act 1994 and any reference to a Schedule to the Act includes a reference to a Schedule as amended from time to time by Order of the Treasury;

• F7“alphabetical code” means the alphabetical prefix as set out below which shall be used to identify the member State —

  • Austria — AT

  • Belgium — BE

  • F8Bulgaria — BG

  • Cyprus — CY

  • Czech Republic — CZ

  • Denmark — DK

  • Estonia — EE

  • Finland — FI

  • France — FR

  • Germany — DE

  • Greece — EL

  • Hungary — HU

  • Ireland — IE

  • Italy — IT

  • Latvia — LV

  • Lithuania — LT

  • Luxembourg — LU

  • Malta — MT

  • Netherlands — NL

  • Poland — PL

  • Portugal — PT

  • F9Romania — RO

  • Slovakia — SK

  • Slovenia — SI

  • Spain — ES

  • Sweden — SE

  • United Kingdom —GB

• “Collector” includes Deputy Collector and Assistant Collector;

• “the Community” means the European Community;

• “continental shelf” means a designated area within the meaning of the Continental Shelf Act 19642;

• “Controller” means the Controller, Customs and Excise Value Added Tax Central Unit;

• “datapost packet” means a postal packet containing goods which is posted in the United Kingdom as a datapost packet for transmission to a place outside the United Kingdom in accordance with the terms of a contract entered into between F4the Post Office company and the sender of the packet; or which is received at a post office F5of the Post Office company in the United Kingdom from a place outside the United Kingdom for transmission and delivery in the United Kingdom F6by that company as if it were a datapost packet;

• F1“fiscal or other warehousing regime” means “fiscal warehousing regime or warehousing regime”;

• “prescribed accounting period”, subject to regulation 99(1), means a period such as is referred to in regulation 25;

• “proper officer” means the person appointed or authorised by the Commissioners to act in respect of any matter in the course of his duties;

• F3“the Post Office” company has the same meaning as in Part IV of the Postal Services Act 2000;

• “registered person” means a person registered by the Commissioners under F2Schedule 1, 2, 3 or 3A to the Act;

• “registration number” means the number allocated by the Commissioners to a taxable person in the certificate of registration issued to him;

• “return” means a return which is required to be made in accordance with regulation 25;

• “specified date” means the date specified in a person’s application for registration for the purpose of VAT as that on which he expects to make his first taxable supply.

A reference in these Regulations to “this Part” is a reference to the Part of these Regulations in which that reference is made.

In these Regulations any reference to a form prescribed in Schedule 1 to these Regulations shall include a reference to a form which the Commissioners are satisfied is a form to the like effect.

The Regulations described in Schedule 2 to these Regulations are hereby revoked.

Anything begun under or for the purpose of any Regulations revoked by these Regulations shall be continued under or, as the case may be, for the purpose of the corresponding provision of these Regulations.

Where any document used or required for the purpose of VAT refers to a provision of a regulation revoked by these Regulations, such reference shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to the corresponding provision of these Regulations.