Annex 1- COS Headings - taxcentreofexcellence.uk

1 Annex 1 Annex 1- COS Headings HMRC Contracted Out Services Direction Guidance Table of Contents About This Document .. 4. Introduction .. 4. When can I reclaim VAT? .. 5. Are there any exceptions to the normal claim period for COS VAT? .. 5. Can I adjust a COS VAT claim I have already made? .. 5. Single/Multiple supplies .. 6. How do I interpret the Treasury's Direction? .. 6. Recent developments .. 6. How do I request a new heading in the Treasury's Direction? .. 7. How to use this guidance .. 8. 1 - Accounting, invoicing and related services .. 8. 2 - Administration of the following: .. 9. 3 - Administration and collection of toll charges .. 9. 4 - Aerial photographic surveys and aerial surveillance .. 9. 5 - Agricultural services of the kind normally carried out by the Farming and Rural Conservation 9.

2 6 - Roads: Section 278 Agreements .. 9. 7 - Broadcast monitoring 11. 8 - Cartographic services .. 12. 9 - Cash in transit services .. 12. 10 - Catering .. 12. 11 - Ceremonial services .. 12. 12 - Childcare services .. 13. 13 - Collection, delivery and distribution services .. 13. 14 - Computer services supplied to the specification of the recipient .. 14. 15 - Conference and exhibition services .. 16. 16 - Debt collection .. 16. 17 - Departmental staff records and payroll systems including administration and payment of 16. Page 1 of 49. Annex 1 18 - Employment advisory services as directed by the Race Relations Act 1976 . 17. 19 - Engineering and related process services .. 17. 20 - Environmental protection services of the kind normally carried out for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

3 17. 21 - Estate management services .. 17. 22 - Export intelligence services .. 18. 23 - Filming, audio-visual and production services .. 18. 24 - Health promotion 18. 25 - Hire of reprographic equipment including repair and 18. 26 - Hire of vehicles, including repair and maintenance .. 18. 27 - Insolvency services .. 19. 28 - Interpretation and translation services .. 19. 29 - Issue of documents to, and control of, bingo halls and off-course bookmakers .. 19. 30 - Issue of documents under Wireless and Telegraphy Act .. 19. 31 Laboratory Services .. 20. 32 - Laundry services .. 20. 33 - Library services .. 20. 34 - Maintenance and care of livestock and fauna in connection with the Royal Parks .. 21. 35 - Maintenance, non-structural repair and cleaning of buildings .. 21. 36 - Maintenance and repair of civil engineering works.

4 24. 37 - Maintenance, repair and cleaning of equipment, plant, vehicles and vessels 24. 38 - Maintenance and repair of statues, monuments and works of art .. 25. 39 - Medical and social surveys .. 25. 40 - Messenger, portering and reception services .. 25. 41 - Nursing services .. 25. 42 - Office 26. 43 - Operation and maintenance of static test facilities, engineering and support services and test range industrial support and security/safety services including those acquired for the purposes of research and development .. 26. 44 - Operation and maintenance of stores depots .. 27. 45 - Operation of hospitals, health care establishments and health care facilities and the provision of related services .. 27. Page 2 of 49. Annex 1 46 - Operation of prisons, detention centres and remand centres, including medical services.

5 28. 47 - Passenger transport services .. 29. 48 - Pest control services .. 29. 49 - Photographic, reprographic, graphic and design services .. 29. 50 - Preparation and despatch of 30. 51 - Press cutting services .. 30. 52 - Professional advice or opinion on departmental efficiency or policy issues, legal advice or opinion and internal 30. 53 - Provision under a PFI agreement of .. 31. 54 - Publicity services .. 32. 55 - Purchasing and procurement services .. 32. 56 - Radio services .. 33. 57 - Recruitment and relocation of staff and other related services .. 33. 58 - Research, testing, inspection, certification and approval work for the Health and Safety Executive .. 33. 59 - Scientific work of the kind normally carried out for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards 34.

6 60 - Security Services .. 34. 61 - Services of printing, copying, reproducing or mailing of any documents or publications, including typesetting services .. 34. 62 - Share Registry Survey .. 35. 63 - Storage, distribution and goods disposal services .. 35. 64 - Surveying, certification and registration in connection with ships and relevant record-keeping and verification, issue of certification, cards, discharge books and campaign medals to seamen .. 36. 65 - Training, tuition or education .. 36. 66 - Transport research of the kind normally carried out for the Department for Transport .. 36. 67 - Travel services, excluding hotel accommodation and fares .. 37. 68 - Travel and transport surveys, including traffic census counts .. 37. 69 - Typing secretarial, telephonist and clerical services including agency staff.

7 37. 70 - Waste disposal services .. 38. 71 - Welfare services .. 38. Page 3 of 49. Annex 1 72 - Career guidance, mentoring, counselling and other related services to help people in to work or to retain work as part of the DWP/Jobcentre Plus Employment Programme, provided under sections 2 and 9 of the Employment and Training Act 38. 73 - Services relating to Action Teams for Jobs and Employment Zones .. 39. 74 - Original research undertaken in order to gain knowledge and understanding39. 75 - Inspection of woodland sites for approval of felling licence applications and of timber imports/imports using timber packing to prevent entry of foreign tree pests and diseases .. 39. 76 - Probation Services delivered under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 .. 39. Annex A- Examples of items that are eligible for recovery under COS Headings 35.

8 And 40. Annex B Version History .. 49. About This Document The Tax Centre of Excellence first created this document in February 2016 to incorporate the COS Heading guidance that HMRC had published on their website VATGPB9700 supplemented by HMRC guidance awaiting publication on the website. There is a version history in Annex B that details which guidance is in this document version. You can jump to any Heading by left clicking (or Ctrl + left clicking) on the relevant line in the table of contents above. Introduction Government departments and health authorities have been encouraged to contract out services to the private sector which would have traditionally been performed in- house. It is recognised that many of these services would be subject to VAT and where they were acquired for 'non-business' purposes, the non-reclaimable VAT.

9 Could act as a disincentive to contracting-out. It was therefore decided to compensate government departments and health authorities by a direct refund mechanism, which is provided for in section 41(3) of the VAT Act 1994. Under this provision, the Treasury issues a Direction, commonly known as the Contracting Out Direction' which lists both the government departments and health authorities that are eligible to claim refunds of VAT, and the services on which VAT can be refunded. Originally there were separate lists of eligible services for each department/NHS. body, but in the 1990s this was consolidated into a single list for all departments/NHS bodies. You are therefore not prevented from reclaiming VAT on Page 4 of 49. Annex 1 the purchase of one of these services merely because you had never undertaken the activity in-house.

10 Additionally, VAT can be recovered on services supplied by another department under a shared services arrangements if the service is listed in the Contracting Out Direction. A full list of the services on which VAT can be reclaimed under the Contracting Out Direction can be found in VATGPB9700. When can I reclaim VAT? Because refunds of VAT under this measure are met from public expenditure rather than VAT revenues, COS VAT should normally be claimed within the financial year in which the supply in question has been received - subject to a 3 month adjustment period - the adjustment can be made no later than the June VAT return following the financial year end. By the supply in question has been received , we mean the tax point. While the tax point is normally the invoice date, this is not always the case.