What is VAT Exemption?

VAT Exemption is when we can provide certain products to certain individuals with zero rate VAT applied. This is due to the UK government providing special rules that we can apply when certain conditions are met.

What are the conditions of applying VAT Exemption?

1.      You the customer (or the person whom you are purchasing the products on behalf of) are eligible to receive VAT Exemption and have declared this with your order.

For a person to be eligible for VAT Exemption, they must be chronically sick or disabled. HMRC define 'chronically sick or disabled' as:

  • A person with a physical or mental impairment which has a long term and substantial adverse effect upon his or her ability to carry out everyday activities;
  • Or with a condition which the medical profession treats as a chronic sickness.

It does not include an elderly person who is not disabled or chronically sick or any person who is only temporarily disabled or incapacitated, such as with a broken limb.

If you are unsure, you should seek guidance from your GP or other medical professional.

You can also find out more from the Help sheets on HMRC’s website or by telephoning the VAT Disabled Reliefs Helpline on Telephone: 0300 123 1073.

2.      The products that you are purchasing are eligible to be supplied with VAT Exemption applied.

Not all of the products we supply are eligible for VAT Exemption. HMRC outline eligible products for VAT Exemption as ones that have been “designed solely for use by disabled people”.

HMRC defines ‘designed solely for use by a disabled person’ in Notice 701/7 VAT reliefs for disabled people, as the original intention of the designer was to produce equipment or an appliance designed solely to meet the needs of persons with one or more disabilities.

Liberator Ltd have consulted Notice 701/7 VAT reliefs for disabled people to insure that only goods/services that qualify for zero rating may have VAT Exemption applied.

Our website is designed only to zero rate products that are eligible and all of these products have been clearly labelled.

Please note that shipping charges are not eligible for VAT relief.

3.      The products that you are purchasing are being supplied to you (or the person for whom you are purchasing the products on behalf of) for domestic or personal use only.

HMRC defines “domestic or personal use” as the supply is needed specifically for the use of a disabled individual or series of disabled individuals.

The following are excluded from the term ‘domestic or personal use’, and not eligible for VAT Exemption:

  • goods and services used for business purposes
  • supplies of eligible goods made widely available for a whole group of people to use as they wish, for example, a stair lift installed in a charity building and made available for the general use or convenience of all those chronically sick or disabled persons who might need it, rather than for the personal use of specified individuals
  • goods and services supplied to:
    • an inpatient or resident of a hospital or nursing home
    • any person attending the premises of a hospital or nursing home for care or treatment
    • any other person or commercial establishment, with the exception of a charity, where the goods are for use by, or in connection with, care provided to an inpatient or resident of a health institution or to a patient whilst attending the premises of a health institution where the items are intended for use in the care or treatment provided in the relevant hospital, nursing home or health institution

Please note the above information are brief guidelines, for further information on the rules and regulations applied to VAT Exemption, please visit HMRC’s website or contact their dedicated VAT Disabled Reliefs Helpline on Telephone: 0300 123 1073.

Please also find below relevant links to HMRC’s website:

www.gov.uk/financial-help-disabled/vat-relief

www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-7017-vat-reliefs-for-disabled-people

Ways in which a Customer can declare VAT Exemption?

There are three ways in which a customer are able to declare that they are eligible to receive VAT Exemption on the products that are eligible:

1.      By placing an order on our website.

When placing an order on our website, the products that are eligible for VAT Exemption are clearly marked with a symbol. Once you have all the products you require in your basket and you are ready to place the order, you will go through to the checkout.

Once you have filled out your Billing address information and Payment Information you will notice a box pops up under the order review, labelled “Do you wish to apply for VAT Exemption”. Please complete the form and by ticking the box “I accept VAT Exemption Terms and conditions”, you are declaring that you are eligible to receive goods zero rated from VAT as detailed in Notice 701/7 VAT reliefs for disabled people. Once you have ticked the declaration and pressed apply, the VAT in the order review will be recalculated to remove VAT from the eligible products (The eligible products will be listed above the VAT Exemption Form).

You are now ready to click “Buy now”.

2.      By placing an order by Post or Email.

When placing an order by the above methods please follow the below link to our manual VAT Exemption form that should be completed and sent in with your order:

www.liberator.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/Documents/VATExemptionForm.pdf

Our friendly orders team will then apply VAT Exemption to the eligible products on your order.

3.      By placing an order over the Phone.

When placing an order over the telephone we will instruct you to download a VAT Exemption Form (link above), to either email to orders@liberator.co.uk or post to our head office : Liberator Ltd | Whitegates | 25-27 High Street | Swinstead | NG33 4PA .

We will ship your order before receiving the VAT Exemption Form, but if we do not receive the VAT Exemption Form back within 30 days we will invoice you for the VAT that was removed from your order.