Given the significant change in the UK`s VAT policy in this regard, if you have received a payment under a settlement agreement that was previously considered outside the scope of VAT, you will need to check whether VAT is now eligible as soon as possible. However, it was the retrospective nature of the changes that was really problematic because it gave HMRC the authority to review historic institutions over a four-year period. Where is the place of delivery? If it is not the United Kingdom, the British VAT is not relevant. Here, the usual rules apply, so if e.B. a German manufacturer of auto parts of a British car brand pays a settlement amount for defective parts in cars sold in the United States, the place of delivery (if any) is Germany and it is the German (not British or American) VAT law that is at issue when a settlement payment relates partly to a service and partly to compensation to a seller for losses incurred, an appropriate distribution of the payment within the meaning of Article 10(22) of the Law on VAT is required. The part of the payment relating to the losses incurred is not subject to VAT, while the part of the payment received in return for the services supplied is subject to VAT. It is therefore advisable that the settlement agreement clearly specifies the settlement payment to be made for each part of the claim. It is important that both parties (but in particular for the beneficiary) include the words “plus VAT if applicable” in the settlement agreement. Indeed, if it follows that if a party to the dispute agrees to waive its right to bring legal action against another party for a settlement payment, the settlement payment constitutes an identifiable payment based on reciprocity and directly related to the right of the transferring party to bring legal action against the other party.
Where the transfer of this right is made by a seller in the context of or for the promotion of his business, the settlement payment collected constitutes consideration for the taxable provision of services. Accordingly, the seller who receives the settlement payment must take into account the output tax of the amount of the tax part (15/115) of the payment. This is particularly true in scenarios where additional compliance with VAT rules is required. For example, if the amount is a refund and triggers a credit note and manages the excess tax on inputs and outputs, everyone must agree before the payer contacts HMRC to receive a refund of the output tax. Since the publication of the press release, very few cases have been brought before the VAT Centre. Cooper Chasney LON/89/1409Z (VATSC06834) and Edenroc LON/88/1047X (VATSC06170) were notable exceptions. Customs and Excise considered that both decisions were in line with the press release. The field offices had processed the requests. However, the Law Society considered that the absence of cases that had been brought could indicate an ignorance of the potential pitfalls in which elements of comparison could give rise to VAT liability. This blog is a continuation of our recent blogs on HMRC`s controversial changes to VAT and early termination payments, as well as VAT on compensation for intellectual property settlements. As noted earlier, the retrospective nature of the changes and the resulting risk of having to cancel historical settlement payments raised a number of questions. This has now led hrMC to plan to issue further guidance on this issue.
However, formulating a settlement agreement by specifying a total amount paid in one direction involves the settlement of all claims, can avoid this problem (since there is no compensation at all). However, if a termination payment was not made in accordance with the terms of the original contract, the separate termination agreement entered into at the time of termination stated that the payment had been made in exchange for a DEVATable “right of termination”. According to the previous position, a comparison could cause problems with respect to several claims where one was part of the VaTable and the other part was not. It was recommended to clearly divide and offer the VATable and non-VATable elements of the comparative sum, otherwise there was a risk that hmrc would consider the entire payment as a single composite delivery (most likely VATable). Remember that a silent contract is a contract that includes VAT, and it is too late for the beneficiary to return for that extra 20% once the agreement is signed. It is important to clearly define the treatment of VAT in the settlement agreement itself by answering these questions: By way of illustration, the failure to take VAT into account in relation to an out-of-court settlement is as follows: What happens if counterclaims are included in the settlement? Unfortunately, VAT cannot be cancelled by offsetting payments against each other. If a settlement agreement expressly provides for the settlement of a claim X and a counterclaim Y, where Y is VATable but X is not, you cannot deduct Y from X and say that the sum is not VATable. In practice, and to the detriment of the seller receiving a settlement payment, it appears that the parties to an out-of-court settlement often ignore the VAT treatment of settlement payments and therefore do not take into account the VAT component when agreeing on a settlement amount or when drafting the agreement in this regard.
If the settlement agreement does not specify whether the payment of the invoice includes or excludes VAT, the payment of the invoice is deemed to include VAT at the standard rate of 15% within the meaning of Article 64 of the VAT Act. The supplier seller, i.e. the recipient of the payment, is therefore obliged to take into account the VAT on it and cannot claim the amount of VAT from the other party in addition to the settlement payment already agreed in the settlement contract. This is in line with the approach previously taken by our courts, which have found that the obligation to pay VAT for a transaction for which VAT is due lies with the supplier seller and not with the recipient. Parties to a dispute often opt for an “out-of-court” resolution rather than a protracted legal dispute with uncertain outcomes and high legal fees. At some level, an out-of-court settlement should be a victory for both sides. However, if the parties are VAT sellers, it is often the party receiving the settlement payment that ends up with a slightly bitter taste in the mouth if VAT has not been taken into account when agreeing on the amount of the settlement to be paid. Previous HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) guidelines, which have now been withdrawn, stated that when customers were asked to withdraw from agreements to receive goods or services, these charges generally did not apply to a supply and did not fall within the scope of VAT. Compensation for breach of contract was considered as compensation for loss of profits and not as consideration for a delivery (and therefore not as a VATable).
Press release 82/87 was issued with the aim of limiting its application to genuine disputes. If a settlement agreement was formulated in such a way that the plaintiff waived the right to sue the defendant for a sum of money, it was not a delivery. If the agreement not to proceed and to accept amicably confirms a previously agreed price or a reduction to a previously agreed price, vat would be adjusted using the credit mechanism with reference to the agreed final price. The situation in which the payment was made subject to a court order remained unchanged. The VAT treatment of payments made under a transactional agreement depends on the amount paid. Compensation for loss or damage suffered is generally not subject to VAT because it is not made for the supply of anything, while a settlement payment made to a seller in exchange for consent waives its right to take legal action in connection with an existing claim constitutes consideration for a service and is subject to VAT. Settlement agreements in which compensation is paid for loss or damage suffered may also provide that payment must be made in full and final settlement of the claim. However, such a clause is included in the agreement to facilitate the agreement.
The settlement payment is made to compensate the plaintiff for any loss or damage suffered, and no part of the payment is made in exchange for the plaintiff`s waiver of his or her right to sue. In this scenario, the beneficiary of the compensation does not have to pay VAT. In view of the above, sellers who conclude out-of-court settlements, in particular the seller who receives payment of a settlement amount, are reminded that it is important to explicitly state in the settlement contract what the payment of the settlement is for and whether the payment of the agreed settlement is exclusive or includes VAT if VAT is due. If the settlement agreement is silent on VAT, the payment is deemed to include VAT if it is made for services rendered. As a result, the seller who receives such a payment is required to take into account the output tax on the amount of the settlement in the amount of the tax part, so that the recipient remains out of his pocket and has finally paid less. VAT is levied on the value of the supply of goods or services made by a seller in the context or in the context of the promotion of a business provided by that seller. .