25/10/2022
Zero Rating of Face Masks
HMRC have issued Brief 11 (2022) on 24 October 2022 to confirm that they now accept face masks that are designed for children under age 14 will qualify as an item of clothing and will therefore fall to be zero rated.
The Revenue are updating their general guide into the zero rating of children’s clothing, Notice 714, to reflect this change of view.
As this is not a change of law, but simply a change of HMRC interpretation, it is open to academies that have charged VAT on the sale of face masks to make an error correction, subject to the usual time limits.