Value Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 section 20

Transfers, etc. deemed not to be supplies

Section 20 sets out certain transfers and disposals of goods that are deemed not to be supplies for VAT purposes, covering hire purchase completions, security for loans, transfers of business, and insurance disposals.

• The transfer of ownership of goods from a finance house to a customer at the end of a hire purchase agreement is not a supply, as VAT has already been charged on the initial handing over of the goods or on the instalment payments.
• Transfers of goods as security for a loan or debt, and the return of those goods on repayment, are deemed not to be supplies.
• A transfer of business assets (or part thereof) to an accountable person is not a supply, provided the assets constitute an undertaking or part of an undertaking capable of independent operation, even if the business has ceased trading.
• An insurance company disposing of goods acquired in settling a claim need not charge VAT where the insured person was not entitled to deduct the VAT on the original purchase of those goods.