Value Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 section 47

Composite and multiple supplies

Section 47 sets out the rules for determining how VAT applies when two or more elements, each potentially attracting VAT at different rates, are supplied together as a package for a single consideration.

• A composite supply consists of a principal element and one or more ancillary elements; the VAT rate on the principal element applies to the entire supply, or the supply is exempt if the principal element is an exempted activity.
• A multiple supply consists of two or more individual elements that are physically and economically dissociable from each other; the total consideration must be apportioned between the individual elements so that each is taxed at its own appropriate rate.
• The composite and multiple supply rules also apply where goods are acquired from other Member States by way of intra-Community acquisition.
• Revenue may make regulations specifying the circumstances in which a supply is to be classified, the apportionment methods to be used, and a de minimis amount that may be disregarded.