Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. We are gathering information to respond to HMRC's consultation on proposals to introduce a domestic reverse charge on purchases of ALL construction services within the UK. The proposals can be read in detail in the consultation here.

The questions at the start of our survey will provide us with some evidence about construction services purchased by the HE sector, and this is what we would most like you to respond to. We have also posed the questions from the consultation itself, but don't feel obliged to answer all of those (although any responses you provide will be very useful).

All information provided in this survey will be anonymised before it is shared with anyone else, but we ask for your name and HEI in case we have any queries.

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* 1. Your name

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* 2. University/HEI name

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* 3. What is the value of your university's capital programme for 2016/17? (exclusive of VAT)

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* 4. How much of this (approximately) do you expect to be subject to VAT at 20%?

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* 5. How much of this (approximately) do you expect to be subject to VAT at 5%?

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* 6. How much of this (approximately) do you expect to be subject to VAT at 0%?

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* 7. Is the reverse charge calculation at your university automated or manual?

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* 8. How long each quarter does it take to manually calculate or adjust the reverse charge figures for your university?

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* 9. If introduced by HMRC, do you expect to create automation for a domestic reverse charge on construction services, or would you use a manual process?

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* 10. Can you give an approximate cost of creating a new reverse charge process for construction services, including system changes and staff time etc?

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* 11. How much staff time per month do you think the proposed reverse charge on construction services might take up?

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* 12. Do you have any suggestions for alternative ways that HMRC could tackle this fraud instead of introducing the reverse charge?

Thank you for providing that information.

The questions below are the HMRC consultation questions - read the consultation details here. If you have any responses or comments to any of these questions, we would also welcome these, although please don't feel obliged to answer any or all of them.

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* 13. Do you think the scope of a reverse charge for construction services should exclude supplies to final customer? (Please give reasons)

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* 14. Do you think a labour/non-labour threshold for the application of the reverse charge should apply throughout the supply chain? If so, at what level should it be set?

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* 15. Are there any implications we should consider if there is no designated main or principal contractor?

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* 16. Can you think of reasons why architects or engineers should not be treated as main contractors for reverse charge purposes? Are there other similar recipients of such supplies who should have the same treatment?

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* 17. What are your views on using the CIS definition as the reverse charge definition? Are there other options that should be considered?

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* 18. Do you have any views on whether a narrower CIS definition or alternative qualifying criteria could be used to exclude small businesses instead of a sales based threshold?

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* 19. Would setting a threshold by invoice value create uncertainty and lead to a confusing application of the reverse charge?

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* 20. Are there contracts that do not lend themselves to the application of a threshold in this way and if so can you provide details please?

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* 21. If you think a threshold based on contract value would work, do you think is should be based on sales made monthly, annually or a combination?

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* 22. If you disagree please can you explain why a reverse charge might affect self-billing or applications for payment arrangements?

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* 23. Can you see problems with requiring the reverse charge to apply to services supplied by FRS users?

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* 24. If a reverse charge was to be introduced, how long would you need to make the necessary IT and billings changes after any announcement? Does having a threshold significantly alter this?

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* 25. Do you agree that any changes to the CIS should be restricted to companies?

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* 26. We are interested in views on whether changes to the turnover test should only be applied to companies that have not traded before?

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* 27. If the threshold was to be increased, at what level do you think it should be set in order for it to be effective against fraud whilst not excluding too many legitimate businesses? Should the increased threshold apply if an applicant’s controlling company already has GPS?

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* 28. What are your views on requiring customers to notify HMRC of changes of ownership or control of businesses supplying labour?

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* 29. Would it be feasible to define certain triggers after which contractors are required to determine whether control of subcontractors has changed? How much burden would that place on contractors?

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* 30. Should a different compliance test be set for those directors or shareholders who have not been previously required to fulfil obligations under the Taxes Acts?

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* 31. Are there other options that we should consider for combatting this fraud?

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* 32. What impact are the proposed changes likely to have on your business?

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* 33. Are there any specific impacts on small and micro businesses that are not covered in this chapter and chapters 2 and 3? If so, please provide details of the anticipated one-off and on-going costs and burdens.

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