UK businesses

Temporary VAT zero rating for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

The Government has announced a change to UK VAT law to introduce a temporary VAT zero rate which comes into effect 2020. This is for the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), recommended for use in connection with protection from infection with coronavirus in guidance published by Public Health England. These changes apply to the whole of the UK.

Under current UK VAT law, the standard rate of VAT (20%) applies to the sale of PPE. However, the EU Commission has recently indicated support for temporary VAT reliefs (including zero-rates) directly linked to the efforts being undertaken to mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. This means the UK now has more scope to review the VAT treatment of these supplies.

Products covered by the zero rate include:

  • disposable gloves
  • disposable plastic aprons
  • disposable fluid-resistant coveralls or gowns
  • surgical masks – including fluid-resistant type IIR surgical masks
  • filtering face piece respirators
  • eye and face protection – including single or reusable full face visors or goggles

These temporary changes will not affect the VAT treatment of any of the supplies:

described in Item 2 of Group 15 (Charities and such like) to Schedule 8, which allows for a zero rate for goods donated by a charity or from charitable funds that would be exempt by virtue of Items 4 and 9 of Group (Health and Welfare) to Schedule 9

The temporary zero rate will be introduced via a new Group 20 to Schedule 8 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994. This measure will take effect from 1 May, for three months, until 31 July. It is intended that the negative procedure statutory instrument will be laid before Parliament on 30 April.

Face Mask & Sanitiser Shipping

Following the Corona virus outbreak all over the world, there is an increased demand in shipping for goods such as Face Masks, Hand Sanitizers and related medical supplies.  

We have shipped  and custom cleared  over 100 tons of Face Masks and Hand Sanitizers over the last couple of weeks and distributed to hospitals, charities, retailers and Amazon. 

If you importing these goods for charity purposes you don’t need to pay any Duty and Vat.

We have a bonded warehouse and we can store your goods until it is sold to your customer in the UK or Europe. Once it is sold we can clear and deliver to them. 

We open 7 days a week and offer express clearance and delivery service of such products.

Please send your enquiries to: [email protected] or call on +44 20 8867 0904

Why us

Outsource your logistics activity in UK for a reliable, flexible and economically high-performance supply chain.

When it comes to shipping medical products, logistics is crucial to providing customers with satisfaction and developing their loyalty. Customers should be able to get their purchases quickly, using the most suitable delivery mode, while being able to track the progress of their consignments.

Combining logistics reliability and cost control has become a strategic aim. At every stage of your company's growth,  DFS worldwide can provide you with the support you need to help you make the best logistics choices and manage your supply chain.

UK freight options