Vat treatment of placement of print product

VAT rules for placement of free print product in airport lounges/ on airplanes

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The company arranges placement of free print product on behalf of UK based businesses through our relationship with airlines/airport lounges.  Does this fall under the standard supply of service rules?

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RLI
By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 09:33

Tell us more about this niche service.

Who is supplying what to whom ?

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By angelfish
04th Jul 2019 10:03

The company is supplying the placement service to the publisher of the free print product

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By paul.benny
04th Jul 2019 12:20

"Placement service" - what does that mean? People physically distributing the documents? Or doing the deals with the airports/airlines etc?

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RLI
By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 12:36

I'm guessing putting comics and magazines in airports.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 12:38

Sounds standard rated to me.

It's a delivery service, is it not ?

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By paul.benny
04th Jul 2019 13:38

I thought that.

But the niggle in my mind is the way that airside is limbo-land for some taxes. Maybe I'm overthinking this - what's the place of supply for the service of placing the leaflets airside?

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RLI
By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 13:46

paul.benny wrote:

I thought that.

But the niggle in my mind is the way that airside is limbo-land for some taxes. Maybe I'm overthinking this - what's the place of supply for the service of placing the leaflets airside?

You think the service is provided airside ?

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By paul.benny
04th Jul 2019 14:12

We're not clear (well I'm not clear) exactly what the service is.. But the OP mentions the documents being placed in airport lounges, so yes, an airside element.

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By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 14:09

Me neither.

The OP has an unusual turn of phrase.

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By WhichTyler
04th Jul 2019 15:57

Where does the customer belong?

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By Vile Nortin Naipaan
04th Jul 2019 12:41

Bill Stickers is innocent!

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By angelfish
04th Jul 2019 13:56

Thank you for your thoughts so far. We are currently charging VAT on everything whether or not just placed in the airport lounge or on a plane on the assumption that it is standard supply of service to a UK business. The customer is disputing the VAT treatment and I just want to understand why that might be before I discuss it with them.

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By paul.benny
04th Jul 2019 13:59

Have they explained why they think it should not be standard rated?

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RLI
By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 14:08

angelfish wrote:
.... that it is standard supply of service to a UK business. ...

What's a "standard supply of service" ?

Is it the same as a "supply of standard rated services" ?

Or something different ?

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By Vile Nortin Naipaan
04th Jul 2019 14:24

The airside concept only matters for customs duties. To make airside outside the UK, because customs duties, including importation VAT are due when you bring goods into the UK, and they need to give would be smugglers the opportunity not to.

I'm pretty sure that for all other tax and VAT purposes, the distinction doesn't matter.

What, EXACTLY, is the service? Is the customer a business (giving printed matter away isn't a business, but it might be an activity of a business)?

Then, subject to the above answers, EITHER where is the customer? OR where is the effective place of use and enjoyment of the service?

There's way too much missing information to make it worth bothering to attempt to answer this question.

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Replying to Vile Nortin Naipaan:
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By paul.benny
04th Jul 2019 14:35

Thanks - I thought I was probably over-thinking the possible relevance of the supply being airside.

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By angelfish
04th Jul 2019 16:10

It's a B2B transaction e.g. a newspaper owner is paying us to put free copies of a newspaper in airport lounges for air passengers to read

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RLI
By lionofludesch
04th Jul 2019 16:23

Why not say that in the first place instead of all that placement of print product jargon ?

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