Hi, does anyone know whether the Private Hire renewal fees for badge and licence are vatable? I have a client who automatically reclaims VAT on everything. The council just issues a slip to say its been paid. There is a box for VAT but its not filled in, but I find the council quite lazy when filling in receipts properly.
I have just been talking with an HMRC VAT inspector. First he said the basics, which is that if something has some tangible value, then generally it will be vatable (and a Private Hire licence is exactly that).
VAT Notice 749 tells Councils all they need to know about VAT. In particular section 5.1: http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000179&propertyType=document#P121_9000
The bottom line is this: if the council considers the transaction to be business based then VAT is chargeable. So in this case it would seem to be the case. However, I would ask the council for a VAT receipt (which they must give by law) to ensure there are no repercussions later.
The Commission is only one issue that has been paid slip. There is a box of VAT, but it does not fill, but I think it will be very lazy, when properly completed receipt. I have said the tax and Customs and VAT inspectors.
