VCONST13500 - Building materials - Note 22 and Note 23: exclusions

General

Not all goods that are ‘ordinarily incorporated by builders in a building of that description’ are ‘buildings materials’. Note 22 specifically excludes certain items, namely:

Building regulations don’t override exclusions

In 1995, the range of items excluded from the VAT definition of ‘building materials’ was modernised to allow certain appliances which building control approval required to be incorporated in that type of a building.

Prior to the change, the Tribunal in BGM Ltd (VTD 11793) and others had confirmed that whilst items incorporated in a building for building regulation purposes are likely to be ‘ordinarily incorporated’ in such buildings, this does not mean that they automatically override the exclusions from the VAT definition of ‘building materials’. This still holds true.