Value Added Tax Act 1994 section 45

Partnerships

Section 45 deals with how partnerships are registered for VAT, how changes in partnership membership are handled, and how VAT liabilities and notices apply to current and former partners.

• A partnership business can be VAT-registered in the firm's name, and changes in partnership membership do not affect whether supplies are treated as made to or by the partnership.
• A former partner continues to be treated as a partner for VAT purposes — including liability for VAT on the partnership's supplies — until the change in membership is formally notified to HMRC.
• Any VAT notice (including assessments) served on the partnership for a period during which a departing partner was a member is treated as also served on that former partner, and notices addressed to the firm in its registered name count as properly served on the partnership and any such former partner.
• A partner's general liability for the firm's VAT debts under partnership law is unaffected, but where a partner is a member for only part of a VAT accounting period, their liability for VAT on the firm's supplies during that period is limited to a just proportion.