Finance (No. 2) Act 1992

Imposition and extent of tax

2In section 1 (charge to tax), for the words from “and on” onwards there shall be substituted “on the acquisition in the United Kingdom from other member States of any goods and on the importation of goods from places outside the member States.”

3(1)After section 2 (scope of tax) there shall be inserted the following sections—

“2AScope of tax on acquisitions

(1)Tax shall be charged on any acquisition from another member State of any goods where—

(a)the acquisition is a taxable acquisition and takes place in the United Kingdom;

(b)the acquisition is otherwise than in pursuance of a taxable supply; and

(c)the person who makes the acquisition is a taxable person or the goods are subject to a duty of excise or consist in a new means of transport.

(2)An acquisition of goods from another member State is a taxable acquisition if—

(a)it falls within subsection (3) below or the goods consist in a new means of transport; and

(b)it is not an exempt acquisition.

(3)An acquisition of goods from another member State falls within this subsection if—

(a)the goods are acquired in the course or furtherance of—

(i)any business carried on by any person; or

(ii)any activities carried on otherwise than by way of business by any body corporate or by any club, association, organisation or other unincorporated body;

(b)it is the person who carries on that business or, as the case may be, those activities who acquires the goods; and

(c)the supplier—

(i)is taxable in another member State at the time of the transaction in pursuance of which the goods are acquired; and

(ii)in participating in that transaction, acts in the course or furtherance of a business carried on by him.

(4)Tax on any acquisition of goods from another member State is a liability of the person who acquires the goods and (subject to provisions about accounting and payment) becomes due at the time of acquisition.

2BScope of tax on imports

(1)Tax on the importation of goods from places outside the member States shall be charged and payable as if it were a duty of customs.

(2)For the purposes of this Act goods are imported from a place outside the member States where—

(a)having been removed from a place outside the member States, they enter the territory of the Community;

(b)they enter that territory by being removed to the United Kingdom or are removed to the United Kingdom after entering that territory; and

(c)the circumstances are such that it is on their removal to the United Kingdom or subsequently while they are in the United Kingdom that any Community customs debt in respect of duty on their entry into the territory of the Community would be incurred.

(3)Accordingly—

(a)goods shall not be treated for the purposes of this Act as imported at any time before a Community customs debt in respect of duty on their entry into the territory of the Community would be incurred; and

(b)the person who is to be treated for the purposes of this Act as importing any goods from a place outside the member States is the person who would be liable to discharge any such Community customs debt.

(4)The preceding provisions of this section shall not apply, except in so far as the context otherwise requires or provision to the contrary is contained in regulations under subsection (1) of section 24 below, for construing any references to importation or to an importer in any enactment or subordinate legislation applied for the purposes of this Act by that subsection.

2CTaxable persons

(1)A person is a taxable person for the purposes of this Act while he is, or is required to be, registered under this Act.

(2)Schedules 1 to 1B to this Act shall have effect with respect to registration.

(3)Persons registered under any of those Schedules shall be registered in a single register kept by the Commissioners for the purposes of this Act; and, accordingly, references in this Act to being registered under this Act are references to being registered under any of those Schedules.

(4)The Commissioners may by regulations make provision as to the inclusion and correction of information in that register with respect to the Schedule under which any person is registered.”