wannabeeahack wrote:
should a council be vat registered?
i assume most suppliers would be
Council will be VAT registered, but (as per last time round
) public bodies undertaking statutory duties like licensing are regarded as carrying out non-business activities, and therefore fees not VATable.
The VAT Notice "local authorities and similar bodies" compares activities like licensing (where councils have a monopoly) with things like charging for sports facilities, where they may be competing against private sector providers:
VAT Notice 749 wrote:
5.8.3 Issuing statutory licences, etc
Public authorities charge for various forms of licensing and approval in a broad range of public activities taking place in their area - for example, approving premises for civil marriages, registering childminders, issuing fire certificates, and licensing and registering firearms. In doing so, the authorities are empowered to act under special legal provisions that private traders cannot call upon. This is a non-business activity.
5.8.4 Letting facilities for sport or physical recreation
If a public authority charges members of the public for sporting or recreational facilities, it is not acting in its capacity as a public authority. It is not acting under a special legal regime applicable to it but rather under the same legal provisions as those that apply to private traders. The activity is business.
So basically it seems all about providing a level playing field with commercial businesses if the council is effectively competing with them. An interesting example is car parking charges, where different types of parking may or may not be VATable.
VAT Notice 749 wrote:
5.8.7 Car parking charges
Where a public authority imposes charges for parking at meter bays on the public highway, including excess parking charges, it does so under statutory powers that nobody other than a public authority can exercise. This activity is non-business.
On the other hand, in providing off-street parking in garages, buildings and open spaces, the authority is not acting under any special legal provisions that give it powers beyond those available to the commercial organisations with which it is in direct competition. So the activity is business.
The full monty here, and more examples of business/non-business activities:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... lar-bodies
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