Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Feb 1998

Vol. 487 No. 3

Written Answers. - VAT on Children's Clothes and Footwear.

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

Since 1985, articles of children's personal clothing which do not exceed the sizes appropriate to children of average build of ten years of age, but excluding clothes which are not described, labelled, marked or marketed on the basis of age or size, are zero rated for VAT. Articles of children's personal footwear of sizes which do not exceed the size appropriate to children of average foot size of ten years of age, but excluding footwear which is not described, labelled, marked or marketed on the basis of age of size, are zero rated for VAT.

All other clothing and footwear attracts VAT at the standard rate of 21 per cent. The provisions of EU VAT law would rule out any extension in the scope of the zero rate at this stage.

The practical administration of these provisions is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners, who have at all times endeavoured to apply them in an equitable way and in full consultation and agreement with the clothing and footwear trade. Explanatory leaflets detailing Revenue's administrative practices in this area are available on request.

I appreciate that some children may require adult size clothing and footwear earlier than others. However, any rule with a cut off point, such as this one, is likely to give rise to anomalous situations, with both winners and losers.

I sympathise fully with any parents or guardians who may face additional costs arising from the rules in question. However, I regret to say that it would not be practical to put special arrangements in place to deal with the problem as they would be costly, difficult to administer fairly and likely to give rise to an even greater number of anomalies than the current system.