At Spring Statement 2019, the government announced that it would launch a call for evidence exploring ways to improve the operation of Partial Exemption (PE) and the Capital Goods Scheme (CGS), following the findings of the 2017 Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) VAT review.

HMRC have now published the consultation document covering both subjects. These are two areas of VAT which can involve a significant amount of administration for businesses, with complex calculations often being required for some businesses to determine the amount of input tax that they are entitled to recover.

The call for evidence is split into three sections:

– the first section looks at the process for applying Partial Exemption Special Methods (PESMs) and the possible ways in which this might be improved to reduce burdens for taxpayers and HMRC alike;
– the second section explores how the current PE de minimis limit could be changed to aid simplification; and
– the third section considers possible policy solutions to issues caused by the CGS.

The consultation will run until 26 September 2019, with further announcements on proposals for future changes expected in time for the Autumn 2019 Budget.

The consultation document can be found here.