On 30 August 2019, HMRC VAT Notice 1001 VAT Refund Scheme for charities was updated. Guidance on charities included in 33c and 33d and the VAT that can be reclaimed was updated, as well as guidance on the definition of a charity.

HMRC has confirmed the scope of the changes:

“The main update was so that reference was made to the National Coastwatch Institution under the definition of ‘search and rescue’ charities. At the same time, paragraph 7 needed to some reformatting. 

“When checking the Notice prior to making the amendments, HMRC noted that the definition of a charity was slightly incorrect, and therefore amended it to match the correct information shown in Notice 701/1.

“You can see previous versions of Notices on the National Archives snapshots of HMRC’s website. The earlier version of Notice 1001 can be seen here.”