VAT Ruling on Medical Services
18th February 2007
Last month, HM Revenue and Customs formally announced that implementation of the VAT ruling on medical services (Dr D’Ambrumenil judgment) will take effect from 1 May 2007, subject to House of Commons approval.
Previously, the provision of a large range of medical services was exempt from VAT. However, the ruling means that this exemption now only applies when the principal purpose of the medical service concerned is the protection, maintenance or restoration of the health of an individual. Providing expert medical reports for the courts will no longer be exempt from VAT and medical practitioners whose taxable income from non-exempt services exceeds the VAT registration threshold (currently £61,000) will need to register for VAT. There will be no compulsory back-dating of VAT registration before the implementation date.
Further details of the announcement and general information on the ruling can be found on the fees section of the BMA website: