VAT FAQ

To help the Tax Team manage your enquiry in more efficient manner, please email us the required information that is listed below.
 

Purchases (AP)

What is the department buying, goods or services?

Goods
  • What are the goods and what will they be used for? Will they be used for medical research?
  • Are the goods being loaned or donated?
  • Where will the goods be shipped from? Where will they be used? 
  • What is the value of the goods?
Services
  • Where will the services be used and enjoyed?
  • What are the services, will it be research, consultancy, or something else? Is there a research collaboration?
  • What is the value of the contract or purchase?

 

Selling (AR)

  • What are you selling?
  • Who is the recipient?
  • Where is the recipient, are they based in the United Kingdom or overseas?
  • What is the value of the contract or sale?
  • What will the goods or services be used for?
  • Is this a donation or a gift where the donor isn't receiving anything in return?
Oracle FAQs

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  • Do the goods qualify for Med/Vet relief?
  • Is the correct purchase category code being used?
  • Is the intended use for the project/GL code set as Med/Vet?
    • No – if you think your project qualifies for Med/Vet relief, please contact the Tax team.
  • Is this the first purchase with the supplier?
    • Yes – the first purchase for a new supplier will always return standard rated VAT in Oracle, please amend the VAT at the PO stage.

If you think a supplier catalogue item is incorrectly mapped to a purchasing category please contact the Tax team with details of the item and the category code. We will then confirm what the VAT treatment should be and get the mapping corrected. 

If you think a product qualifies for the medical exempt VAT relief, please check with the Tax team to see if this item can be assigned a purchase category code that is mapped to zero rated VAT.

Details to provide the Tax team:

  • what is the item and what it is typically used for
  • what purchase category code the item has currently been assigned to

Catalogue codes with "other" in the description will always return standard rated VAT. Please check that you have selected the correct code.

For Med/Vet intended use to be applied to a project and the retrieve certain qualifying purchases with zero rated VAT, please email the Tax team with a short explanation of what the project is for, the work involved and the desired outcomes of the project.

Please supply the Tax team with the main funding agreement and the contract with the collaborator. Was the collaborator communicated to Research Accounts on the original set-up request?

Please always send the Tax team a copy of the contract so we can confirm the project is indeed ODA/GCRF/FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office). This is to make sure the project is eligible for reverse charge VAT not to be applied.

The category code to use for these projects checked with the Tax team is 703.7039 - Consultancy UK Government funded Overseas Aid Projects.

Please fill in the VAT correction form template and send to the Tax team with supporting documentation e.g. invoices. This correction form can be used for the GL and Projects.

Corrections must be over £100 VAT cost per line.

We may ask for further information to set the VAT recovery for your department’s cost centres. We like to confirm if and how much business and non-business activity relates to the cost centre as this could make a difference with the VAT recovery. To have your cost centre set up promptly please could you ensure this information is provided.

For SRF cost centres please fill in the SRF tax status form to accompany the Cost Centre form.

 

If you think the activity has changed for your cost centre please email the Tax team what the activity is for the cost centre so we can review the VAT recovery.

You may be required to complete and return the VAT correction form template to amend any previous errors. 

Please let the Tax team know the supplier name and supplier number so we can check the supplier’s Oracle Tax profile in a prompt manner.

Please check that the project has been set to non-funded irrecoverable. This will ensure the VAT is moved from the project to the department as a cost.

If the project has been setup correctly then we may ask you to complete and return the VAT correction form template in order to remove the VAT.

Other VAT FAQs

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United States:

You may have been asked to provide a W8-BEN or W8-BEN-E, the default form we use is W8-EXP.

 

Other countries:

Please check our Withholding Tax page.

Are the individuals we are paying current staff?

If so, please contact the Payroll team.

If not, what are we paying the individuals for? Please provide these details when you contact the Tax Team.

Please visit our Import FAQ page.

Contact Us


 : Finance Division
       University of Oxford
       23-38 Hythe Bridge Street
       Oxford OX1 2JD

  : vatenquiries@admin.ox.ac.uk

  : 01865 (6) 16215

Reference


Tax Glossary