VATEDU39100 - Group 6 Item 1 Education, research and vocational training provided by eligible bodies: eligible bodies: how to identify an ‘eligible body’

Education is exempt if it is supplied by an eligible body. VATEDU39000 gives guidance on the types of organisation that are eligible bodies for the purpose of the VAT Act 1994, Schedule 9, Group 6. You need to know whether a body qualifies as an eligible body before you can go on to establish the liability of the supplies it makes. However, you should have first established that supplies are made for the purposes of VAT by reference to VATEDU25000.

Eligible bodies are:

  • any of the educational institutions listed in VATEDU28000;
  • UK universities and their colleges and higher education institutions as defined in VATEDU39300 and 39320;
  • local authorities;
  • central government bodies, for example, government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies and NHS bodies;
  • non-profit-making bodies that carry out duties of an essentially public nature similar to those carried out by a local authority or Government Department;
  • non-profit-making organisations that meet certain conditions; or
  • commercial providers of tuition in English as a foreign language - see VATEDU39600.