Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020
41. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the status of the implementation of the VAT compensation refund scheme; the number of recipients; the amount of VAT refunded to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11684/20]
View answerThe VAT Compensation Scheme was introduced in Budget 2018 to relieve the VAT burden on charities and to partially compensate them for the VAT paid on expenditure related to independently raised income on or after 1 January 2018. The scheme is not applicable to VAT paid in years prior to 2018.
The funding for the scheme is capped at €5 million per year and where the total amount of claims in any year exceeds this amount, refunds are paid to charities on a pro-rata basis. Charities can only make one claim per year in respect of the previous year, which must be submitted between 1 January and 30 June. For example, a claim in respect of 2018 had to be made between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2019.
Revenue started accepting claims for the scheme in January 2019 in respect of eligible VAT paid by charities in 2018. A total of 1,143 claims were received for that year and as the total amount claimed exceeded the €5m fund, refunds were issued on a pro-rata basis, with the full fund allocated.
Revenue is now accepting claims in respect of eligible VAT paid by charities in 2019. In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the closing date for submission of claims has been extended from 30 June 2020 to 31 August 2020. A total of 163 claims to the value of €5.7m have been received in respect of 2019 to date. Refunds will be made later in the year once the 31 August closing date for receipt of applications has passed.
