§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the medical aid recombinant factor 8 is not zero-rated; and if he will now zero rate it. [31088]
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryIn 1977 the then Government agreed with other member states, under the terms of the EC sixth VAT directive, not to extend the scope of our existing VAT zero rates and so it is not now possible to zero rate these products.
Human blood and substances derived from it, including plasma-derived factor 8, are exempt from VAT under items 6 and 7 of group 7 of schedule 9 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994. However, recombinant factor 8, being synthetic and not derived from human blood, does not fall within this exemption and so is subject to VAT at the standard rate.