30th March 2009

We have received written confirmation from HM Revenue and Customs regarding the VAT status of services that we supply to our customers. We had been operating a system whereby eligible bodies that presented a zero rated certificate would not be charged VAT on their order. However, the ruling that we have now been provided with states that we must charge VAT at the prevailing rate (currently 15%) on all our standard services, since the provision of DNA sequencing is classified as a service and not as research.

We will therefore be changing our invoicing system so that all orders from customers outside the University of Dundee for DNA sequencing, GeneMapper, maxi-preps, mini-preps, etc attract VAT at the prevailing rate from 1st April 2009. Customers who wish us to undertake projects with them as part of their research should discuss VAT with us at the start of the project, since it is possible that certain types of project could be classified as research and so would not attract VAT.

For more information in relation to VAT, please consult the HM customs and Revenue web site. Specifically, customers may wish to view these documents:

HMRC Reference:Notice 701/30 (January 2002) - Education and vocational training

Section 5, paragraph 5.6 outlines the meaning of research for VAT purposes and is the relevant section that HMRC cite in relation to the services that we provide.

Public Notice 700 - The VAT Guide

Section 29 of the guide deals with VAT zero rating and lists the different types of supplies that can be made.

Should any customers have queries regarding the charging of VAT on their orders, please feel free to contact us and we will be pleased to discuss this in more detail.