Advertising
Advertising to charities is zero rated. The University is a registered charity and benefits from this relief. The relief covers advertisements on any subject, including staff recruitment.
Advertising media
Zero rating can apply to any media which communicates with the public such as:
- Television
- Cinema
- Billboards
- The sides of vehicles
- Newspapers
- Printed publications
- Third party website
- Space sold on other items, e.g. calendars, beer mats, clothing, reverse side of till rolls.
The advertising must be aimed at the general public and not selected individuals or groups to qualify for zero rating.
Exclusions
- Direct mail and telesales are not covered by this relief. They are considered marketing because they are addressed to selected individuals or groups.
- Social media where individuals log onto personal pages and are shown advertisements tailored to their likes, dislikes, interests or location.
- Information, including advertising, placed on the charities own website does not qualify for zero rating - unlike advertising on a third party site which does qualify.
- Exhibition stands and space.
- Services of distribution.
- Advertisement where there is no supply or space to the charity. For example, an advertisement on a charity’s own greetings card.
- Commemorative items such as pens or adult clothing.
Design and production of an advertisement
As long as the conditions above are met then the supply of the design or production of the advertisement are also eligible for zero rating. This includes goods closely related to design or production such as photographs, pictures, soundtracks, or a finished article such as a film.
Printed stationary
The following items of printed stationery can be zero-rated when supplied to a charity:
- Collection envelopes asking for money
- Pre-printed appeal letters
- Envelopes used to send out appeal letters.
Evidence of charitable status
As this only applies to charities, suppliers who are unaware of the University’s charitable status may include VAT on their invoices in error. As it is the supplier’s responsibility to apply the correct VAT rate then they may ask the customer to provide a declaration stating that they are a charity and are eligible for relief - Declaration of Charitable Status [DOCX 28.39KB]