Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2016
174. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Finance the circumstances in which equipment and house adaptations for persons with disabilities are exempt from VAT, or for which the VAT is refundable; the type of adaptions and equipment to which this applies; the process involved in availing of such a provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9406/16]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the VAT rating of goods and services is constrained by the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. There are no circumstances in which the supply of equipment or house adaptations, even for a person with a disability, is exempt from VAT. There is, however, provision for the refund of VAT incurred on qualifying goods for the use of disabled persons. The provision is contained in the Value Added Tax (Refund of Tax) (No 15) Order 1981. The order specifies the degree of disability and defines the qualifying goods as goods which are aids or appliances, including parts and accessories, specially constructed or adapted for use by a disabled person and includes goods which, although not so specially constructed or adapted, are of such a kind as might reasonably be treated as so constructed or adapted having regard to a particular disablement of that person. The Refund Order extends to works carried out on homes, including the installation of walk-in-showers, to adapt them to make them more accessible for disabled persons. While the Refund Order does not apply to the actual construction of a home it would apply, for example, to certain alterations or adaptations that would be necessary to meet the particular needs of the disabled person.
Any application under the Refund Order should be made on Form VAT 61A and submitted to the Revenue Commissioners Central Repayments Office in Monaghan. Further information is available on the Revenue website www.revenue.ie.
