Value Added Tax Act 1994 Schedule 9A paragraph 3

Form of directions under Schedule 9A

Schedule 9A paragraph 3 sets out the types of direction that HMRC may give to counteract avoidance in relation to VAT grouping, how those directions take effect, and HMRC's powers to vary or withdraw them.

• HMRC may direct that a specific supply between two parties should not be treated as an intra-group supply disregarded under VAT grouping rules, or may direct that a particular person should be treated as outside (or inside) a VAT group for a stated period
• Where a direction requires assumptions to be made, those assumptions apply under the VAT Act for all times from the date of the direction onwards; for earlier periods, separate adjustment provisions in paragraph 6 of the Schedule apply instead
• A direction placing a person into a VAT group may also specify who is to be treated as the representative member of that group for the relevant period, and any direction may be varied by a later direction or withdrawn at any time by written notice
• HMRC's power to give a direction is not restricted by whether they have previously granted or refused an application to change VAT group membership under section 43B — they can still direct whatever outcome the case would have warranted regardless of that earlier decision