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Research Operations Office

 

Published on Tue, 21/04/2015 - 12:23

As you may have heard, HMRC have announced the removal, from this August, of the VAT exemption under UK legislation for research supplied by one ‘eligible body’ to another. Universities, government departments and some non-profit making bodies are all eligible bodies. However, although the removal will cause some difficulties and added cost to the University, the impact is not as far reaching as it might first seem because the vast majority of research in the University is grant funded and therefore outside the scope of VAT rather than exempt. The main circumstance in which the University relies on the exemption is when research is subcontracted between universities. The exemption’s removal will create an additional VAT cost to the University. 

The University’s tax office is feeding into the current consultation out from HMRC and also meeting HMRC policy unit directly to clarify the many uncertainties surrounding the change in law as well as to discuss ways in which its impact may be mitigated.  As soon as we have clear information and advice we will pass this on.

Meanwhile, please direct any urgent queries to the University’s tax team, via Carolyn Paskins on 01223 (3)32230 or Carolyn.paskins@admin.cam.ac.uk

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