§ 23. Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the full cost to the NHS in the current financial year of the removal of zero rating from incontinence products. [633]
§ Mr. BurnsUnder the Value Added Tax Act 1994, schedule 8, group 12, item 2(g), incontinence products are zero rated only when supplied directly to a disabled person or to a charity which makes them available to disabled persons. As the national health service falls into neither of these categories, supplies of these products are, and always have been, standard rated. Since there is no change, there will be no associated increased cost for the NHS. It is only through a temporary relaxation in the interpretation of the VAT regulations by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise that the NHS has been able temporarily to claim a VAT reimbursement on these products.