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VAT grouping

There are special VAT rules that allow two or more corporate bodies to be treated as a single taxable person for VAT purposes known as a VAT group. Advantages of group registration The representative member accounts for any tax due on supplies made by the group to third parties outside the group. This is particularly helpful if your accounting is centralised. As the group is treated as a single taxable person, you do not normally account for VAT on goods or services supplied between group members. Only one VAT return is required for the whole group. Disadvantages of group registration You will need to make sure that the representative member has all the necessary information to submit a VAT return for the group by the due date. All members of the group are jointly and severally liable for the tax due from the representative member. The partial exemption de minimis limits apply to the group as a whole and not the members individually. The limit for voluntary disclosures of errors on past returns also applies to the group as a whole. The cash accounting limits apply to the group as a whole and not to the members individually. The payment on account limits will apply to the group as a whole and not to the members individually. HMRC has recently updated the applicable VAT Notice 700/2: group and divisional registration. The notice cancels and replaces the previous version published in August 2014 and has been updated to reflect changes coming into effect on 1 April 2019 that clarify which overseas services can be classified as bought-in services to ensure that such services are subject to UK VAT.