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Supply of services meaning

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What does Supply of services mean?
In practice, a supply of services is any transaction where a person provides something other than goods—such as work performed, rights granted, or facilities made available—in return for consideration. In UK VAT law (Value Added Tax Act 1994, s.5) and Irish VAT law (VAT Consolidation Act 2010), anything done for consideration that is not a supply of goods is a supply of services, unless legislation treats it as neither a supply of goods nor of services. VAT is chargeable on supplies of services, subject to exemptions, zero‑rating or outside‑scope treatment. Key legal features include: the requirement for consideration (payments unconnected with a supply—such as certain grants, damages or statutory penalties—are typically outside scope); statutory rules deeming some activities to be supplies; and the place of supply, time of supply (tax point), invoicing and reverse charge rules, which determine where and when VAT is due and by whom. The term is used across contract drafting, VAT compliance and disputes to assess VAT liability, input tax recovery and pricing. Usage is broadly consistent across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland; for services, Northern Ireland follows the same VAT approach as the rest of the UK.
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View the related Checklists about Supply of services

CHECKLISTS
Consultancy agreements: UK drafting and negotiation checklist—employment status, IR35, IP, data protection, service levels, payment, liability, insurance, TUPE and insolvency

This Checklist This Checklist identifies the principal terms to weigh up within a consultancy agreement. It draws attention to points affecting the customer, matters impacting the consultant, and considerations shared by both sides for incorporation into a consultancy agreement. The Checklist supports both consultant and customer as they assess and bargain over a consultancy agreement, effectively guiding review and negotiation throughout the process. See also: Taking instructions for a consultancy agreement—checklist...

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CHECKLISTS
Selecting the right B2B services agreement precedent: UK flowchart and at‑a‑glance drafting matrix (one‑off, ongoing, framework; pro‑customer/pro‑supplier/balanced; TUPE, data, compliance)

Flowchart This Flowchart assists in identifying and selecting which Precedent agreement for the supply of services is best suited for use in a particular situation or circumstance. An at-a-glance table likewise summarises the principal underlying drafting assumptions for each of the Precedent agreements, providing an alternative means of deciding the most appropriate Precedent to deploy in any given situation or context. Only business-to-business (B2B) Precedent options are addressed by the Flowchart together with the accompanying table...

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CHECKLISTS
UK B2B Services Agreements Negotiation Checklist: Customer, Supplier and Balanced Positions Across Key Clauses

Introduction This checklist sits alongside the more detailed Practice Note: Negotiation guide—services agreements. It serves as a quick-look aide and concentrates on the principal, generic points that commonly surface across most forms of services agreement. It leaves out certain specialist matters addressed in Practice Note: Negotiation guide—services agreements that tend to arise only in particular categories of services arrangements or those of greater complexity (eg acceptance testing, audit rights, TUPE, step-in rights, benchmarking and exit assistance). It sets out the customer’s and the supplier’s optimal stances for each topic, then offers a proposed middle-ground position (which is not intended to be comprehensive). For deeper analysis and explanation of each point, refer to Practice Note: Negotiation guide—services agreements. For balanced precedent contracts, which implement much of what is explored here and in the negotiation guide, see Precedents: Services agreement—one-off supply—balanced, Services agreement (ongoing supply)—balanced and Framework services agreement—single contract with call-off orders—balanced. This checklist is relevant only to business-to-business dealings in commercial practice...

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View the related Flowcharts about Supply of services

FLOWCHARTS
UK merger control: flowchart to assess CMA jurisdiction—‘relevant merger situation’

This Flowchart sets out the consumer cancellation rights that must be made available to consumers entering on-premises contracts, off-premises contracts and distance contracts for the supply of services Use this guide when a practitioner needs to verify which cancellation entitlements apply to consumers purchasing services in accordance with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (CCR 2013). Note 1—a consumer is an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. Note 2—certain sector-specific contracts are regulated separately, such as financial services contracts, rental contracts and package travel contracts, and are excluded in full from the CCR 2013. For more information, see Practice Note: Distance, doorstep and on-premises sales—Excluded contracts...

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FLOWCHARTS
Protective costs orders (PCOs) in environmental litigation: flowchart of scenarios and application routes

This Checklist supports the preparation of terms and conditions for the sale of goods. It highlights key points when producing standard B2B terms or a goods sale agreement. It covers legal, regulatory and practical aspects of selling and supplying goods and is written from a seller/supplier perspective. For general guidance on contracts for the sale of goods, see Practice Notes: Contracts for the sale and supply of goods—business to business and Implied terms in contracts for goods and services. For broader guidance on key provisions in commercial contracts, see Practice Note: Key terms and conditions in commercial contracts. General considerations Engage with departmental stakeholders to identify concerns and gather customer feedback that should be addressed in the terms. Map how goods will be provided and any back-end processes, eg delivery or returns, that need to be reflected in the terms. Check for pre-existing commitments, such as restrictive covenants or exclusive sale or purchasing arrangements, that could prevent a bespoke supply contract...

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FLOWCHARTS
UK VAT place of supply rules for land and property services—flowchart for domestic and cross-border scenarios

Flowchart This flowchart explains the VAT place of supply rules for services when those services relate directly to land or property...

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View the related News about Supply of services

NEWS
GB energy regulatory update—TPIs regulation, SoLR Levy Offset, early competition and OHA pilot, DCC licence decisions, EU Energy Efficiency Directive guidance—26 September 2024

In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility International energy Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing DESNZ launches consultation on regulating TPIs in the retail energy market The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has opened a consultation to bring Third Party Intermediaries in the retail energy market under regulation, bolstering consumer protection and aiding the shift to a cleaner energy system. Triggered by cases of consumers and businesses being targeted by unregulated rogue brokers and other TPIs, this forms part of the government’s ongoing support for Ofgem to develop an effective market for non-domestic customers, alongside implementing recommendations from Ofgem’s July 2023 non-domestic policy consultation. The consultation closes on 15 November 2024. See: LNB News 20/09/2024 36. Ofgem launches statutory consultation on SoLR Levy Offset...

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NEWS
Court of Appeal: Regulation 90 time of supply for continuous services prevails over VAT group disregard; deferred fees taxable post-exit; B J Rice not binding (Prudential v HMRC)

The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 300 The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd (Prudential) acted as the representative member of its VAT group. Another company in the group, Silverfleet Capital Ltd (SCL), executed an investment management services contract to provide services to Prudential. Under that contract, SCL was also eligible for a management fee and deferred performance fees once a specified hurdle rate was achieved. Under section 43 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994), no VAT was payable on the management fee because they were in the same VAT group. In 2007, SCL exited the VAT group. In 2014 and 2015, the triggers for paying the further deferred performance fee were satisfied and SCL invoiced Prudential for over £9m in total. The question before the Court of Appeal was whether those additional performance fees ultimately constituted consideration for a supply made while both companies were members of the same VAT group or, alternatively, whether the services amounted to a continuous supply of services...

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NEWS
Construction law update: TCC Sunday deadline ruling, HRB gateway updates, PAP reform, UKSC digital portal, investment treaty award upheld, CIS change for traffic management, SBCC 2025 pricing, sector news

In this issue: Contract law Building safety Litigation Arbitration Tax for construction lawyers Standard form contracts Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Contract law Employer deemed out of time in issuing a notification on the Monday after a Sunday deadline (My Contracts v 74 Hamilton Terrace) In My Contracts Ltd v 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 2896 (TCC), the TCC issued a declaration at the contractor’s request concerning the construction of a clause that imposed a deadline for the employer to notify costs for which the contractor was responsible. The court concluded the employer missed the deadline by serving the notice on the Monday immediately after the final day for service, which had fallen on a Sunday. Central to the decision was that the clause made no provision for the period to be calculated by reference to ‘Business Days’. See News Analysis: Employer...

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View the related Practice Notes about Supply of services

PRACTICE NOTES
UK money market funds: regime essentials, authorisation, UCITS/AIFM interactions, investment and liquidity rules, CNAV/LVNAV/VNAV, and post‑Brexit reform proposals including TMPR and the Overseas Funds Regime

This Practice Note examines core aspects of the UK framework for money market funds (MMFs) that stems from Regulation (EU) 2017/1131 (the EU MMF Regulation). It also looks at suggested changes to the framework, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HM Treasury and the Bank of England (BoE) working jointly to bolster its resilience and align it with post‑Brexit regulatory objectives. For background on the EU MMF Regulation, see Practice Note: EU MMF Regulation—essentials. What is an MMF? Money market funds (MMFs) are investment funds that invest in short‑term debt instruments and so play a significant role in the short‑term financing of the economy. In particular, MMFs are open‑ended, liquid investment funds that invest in fixed income through short‑term debt, for example money market instruments issued by banks, governments or companies (including treasury bills, commercial paper and certificates of deposit) which pay interest. They therefore form an important connection between demand for, and the supply of, short‑term debt. Further information on the eligible assets of an MMF is...

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PRACTICE NOTES
VAT on Litigation Costs: Entitlement, Disbursements, Barristers’ Fees, Tax Points and Assessment under CPR PD 44 (England and Wales)

This Practice Note sets out the particular rules governing VAT on costs that fall to be the subject of either summary or detailed assessment before the High Court. The applicable provisions are contained in CPR PD 44. Entitlement to This is addressed at CPR PD 44, para 2.3 through to CPR PD 44, para 2.6. The party seeking recovery of costs bears responsibility for ensuring that VAT is claimed only if, and only to the extent that, it cannot recover from HMRC the VAT it has incurred (CPR PD 44, para 2.4). if the VAT is recoverable from HMRC, it should not be included in a claim for costs if only a proportion of the VAT is recoverable from HMRC, include only that proportion which is not recoverable from HMRC in the claim for costs The legal adviser’s VAT registration number must appear in a prominent position at the head of every statement, bill of costs, fee sheet, account or voucher...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK VAT reverse charge on cross-border services: applicability, operation, timing, and effects on registration and input tax recovery

As further explained in Practice Note: What is VAT?, ordinarily In typical circumstances: the purchaser pays the supplier an amount matching the VAT due on the supply, in accordance with the agreement between them; and the supplier, in turn, is required to account for that VAT to HMRC. The UK reverse charge is a mechanism that shifts the duty to account for VAT to HMRC away from the supplier and onto the recipient, effectively reversing the obligation...

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View the related Precedents about Supply of services

PRECEDENTS
Balanced UK supply chain compliance schedule: anti-bribery, modern slavery, failure to prevent tax evasion and fraud; policies, training, records, audit and monitoring, flow-down, breach/termination, indemnity

The Schedule 1 Definitions 1.1 In this Schedule: Adequate Procedures – must be interpreted in line with BA 2010 and any guidance issued under it; Associated Person – means any or all of: (a) the officers, employees, agents, subcontractors, subsidiaries, and individuals Associated With a party (Associates); and (b) persons Associated With any of those Associates, in every instance engaged in carrying out services for, or on behalf of, that party, the Services, and/or this Agreement; and Associated With – where used: (a) in paragraph 2 and in relation to bribery, is to be construed in accordance with BA 2010 and guidance issued under it; (b) in paragraph 4 and regarding the facilitation of tax evasion, is to be construed in accordance with Part 3 of CFA 2017 and guidance issued under it; (c) in paragraph 5 and as regards fraud, is to be construed in accordance with Part 5 of ECCTA 2023 and guidance issued under it; BA 2010 – means the...

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PRECEDENTS
Product Safety Incident, Recall and Corrective Action Plan Template aligned with PAS 7100:2022 and GPSR 2005

1 Management commitment Person accountable for the Product Safety Incident Plan (PSIP) [ Insert name and contact details of senior person in the organisation responsible for leading, developing and periodically reviewing the policy, and reporting on its operation to the Board ] Plan Review Date [ Insert date of next plan review ] 1.1 [ Insert organisation name ] aims to ensure every product it [ produces AND/OR distributes ] is safe, of high quality and meets all applicable legislation and standards. [ Insert organisation name ] evaluates those products and acts to remove, or, where that is not achievable, to reduce, any identified safety risks. 1.2 [ Insert organisation name ] achieves this through quality assurance, ongoing product monitoring [ , review of customer complaints and product returns, ] and risk assessment, in accordance with the relevant section of the PSIP. 1.3 The PSIP has been shaped with contributions from across the business, including [ eg design, production, quality assurance, customer services,...

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PRECEDENTS
Contracting authority partner access clause—direct contracting with supplier, buyer authorisation, incorporation of terms, procurement compliance, reporting and rebate

Definitions Partner(s) • refers to EITHER: [ the following: [ insert names of partners ] OR those [ insert type of group, eg councils or academies in a geographical area or a type of public body ], as described in the Find a Tender service (FTS) Notice. ] The expression Partner(s) shall be understood accordingly. Partner Contract • denotes any arrangement, whatever its form, between the Supplier and the Partner(s) that stems from this Agreement. 1 Use of Agreement by Partner(s) The Supplier accepts and agrees that the Buyer has entered into this Agreement for its own benefit and for the benefit of the Partner(s). Beyond supplying the [ Goods OR Services OR Works ] to the Buyer under this Agreement, the Supplier shall also supply such [ Goods OR Services OR Works ] to any Partner that makes a request, PROVIDED THAT doing so shall not disrupt, compromise, or diminish the level of service the Supplier provides to...

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View the related Q&As about Supply of services

Q&As
Employer auxiliary aid in union paid time off; trade organisation duty?

Duty to make reasonable adjustments The Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) establishes a duty to make reasonable adjustments (referred to below as ‘the duty’), which contains three distinct requirements. The third requires that, where a disabled person would, without the provision of an auxiliary aid, face a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant matter when compared with people who are not disabled, such steps as are reasonable must be taken to supply the auxiliary aid. The situations in which the duty arises differ across workplace settings. Accordingly, the precise circumstances that engage the duty will not be uniform across all settings. For all three requirements, the duty is triggered only where a disabled individual is placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with non‑disabled people ‘in relation to a “relevant matter”’, and what counts as a ‘relevant matter’ (as defined in EqA 2010, Sch 8 Pt 1) varies according to the particular type of workplace. As a result, application of the duty is context‑specific to the workplace in question....

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Q&As
LRA 2002 s.4 rentcharges: first registration and transfer validity

The general rule The general rule is that when a buyer of a freehold interest enters into covenants with the seller, although the burden of restrictive obligations will in many instances bind a successor in title, positive duties requiring the covenantor to act do not run when the freehold is conveyed. A rentcharge operates as a device by which a monetary duty can pass to the successor of the initial buyer. There is no issue, as a matter of contractual privity, in imposing on the purchaser a contractual obligation to pay the seller for the supply of services relating to the land; however, matters become more intricate once the seller transfers the freehold estate to a third party. The rentcharge nonetheless entitles its holder to demand regular periodic payments of money from the owner of the freehold estate. It is not a mortgage, because it does not function as security for a debt...

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Q&As
Are personal guarantees for consumer client legal fees regulated?

Key legal issues for guarantees Guarantees constitute contracts and must accordingly meet the four essential elements of a contract, namely: offer acceptance consideration the intention to create legal relations As a rule in law, consideration given in the past is ordinarily insufficient. A firm ought not to take a guarantee once it has already agreed to supply services to a client in question. The guarantee must also comply fully with s.4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677. It must thus be recorded in writing and properly signed by the guarantor as required. The Firm should also be alert to potential claims of misrepresentation, duress, and undue influence. It is sound practice to see that the guarantor receives independent legal advice on the implications of giving the guarantee. Is the guarantee a regulated credit agreement? Where undertaken by way of business in the United Kingdom, entering into a regulated credit agreement may potentially amount to a regulated activity under...

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