With just one month to go, the government has backtracked on the effective date for significant changes to the VAT treatment of supplies in the construction industry, delay the introduction of the new rules by 12 months to October 2020. Now with one year to go, the measure will have industry-wide ramifications but at least there is more time to prepare.

From 1 October 2020, a domestic reverse charge rule is being introduced which will affect anyone in a supply chain who is required to charge and collect VAT in relation to certain supplies of construction services, including supplies between sub-contractors and main contractors.