Value Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 Schedule 3 paragraph 3

Food and drink for human consumption

Paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 applies the reduced rate of VAT to certain categories of food and drink for human consumption, including restaurant and catering services, hot takeaway food and drink, and flour or egg based bakery products, subject to specific exclusions.

• Restaurant and catering services are charged at the reduced rate, but supplies of hospital and school meals, alcoholic drinks, bottled water, minerals and soft drinks (excluding fruit juices) are excluded.
• Hot takeaway food and drink — meaning cooked food supplied at a temperature above ambient air temperature for the purpose of being consumed while hot — is charged at the reduced rate, but freshly baked bread that happens to be warm at the time of purchase is not treated as hot takeaway food and remains zero-rated.
• Flour or egg based bakery products such as cakes, crackers, wafers and biscuits are charged at the reduced rate, but chocolate-covered wafers and biscuits, frozen desserts, savoury snacks, and chocolates, sweets and similar confectionery are excluded.
• The reduced rate provisions in this paragraph operate by reference to the food and drink table and its various Parts, which classify different categories of food and drink for VAT rate purposes.