Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Scope definition

What does Scope mean? Scope (often called the scope of works) describes, in construction and engineering practice, the package of work the contractor must perform and any constraints or methods required. It is not defined by legislation and has no universal legal meaning; its content is contractual and is interpreted using ordinary principles of contract construction across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. In the NEC4 suite, Scope (capitalised) is a defined term that specifies and describes the work the Contractor is to undertake and any constraints on how it Provides the Works, for example required standards, design responsibility, performance criteria,...

UK VAT: Land and Buildings Exemption—Scope, Exclusions, Option to Tax, Licences to Occupy, Rights over Land, Fixtures, TOGC and Zero-Rating

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Practice notes

FORTHCOMING CHANGE :

HMRC issued a call for evidence, ‘Simplifying the VAT Land Exemption’, in May 2021, seeking views and input on bold options for redefining the exemption’s scope and future direction. Among the ideas were bringing all ‘short‑term or minor’ rights over land within the VAT net, or abolishing the existing ‘option to tax’ regime and instead treating every land deal as subject to VAT, with targeted carve‑outs for, for example, residential or charitable property. While these suggestions largely failed to win favour with respondents, they may nevertheless signal narrower and potentially more suitable reforms that HMRC could look to advance in the near term. The evidence‑gathering consultation exercise ran from 12 May 2021 to 3 August 2021. A response summary appeared on Tax Administration and Maintenance Day on 30 November 2021, confirming that the government did not, at that point, plan any further action on proposals previously set aside by the Office of Tax Simplification, but intended to continue engagement with stakeholders on the topics from 2022. For further details, see News Analysis: Views on HMRC’s proposals to simplify VAT land exemption rules and Tax Administration and Maintenance Day—30 November 2021—Simplifying the VAT land exemption...

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Martin Scammell

Martin Scammell is an independent VAT consultant, specialising in property and construction matters, who works with tax departments in major corporates and universities, and with a number of law and accountancy firms. He is the author of the leading reference work on VAT and property.Martin started out in VAT Policy in Customs & Excise, was a Partner at Ernst & Young, where he headed up the VAT real estate group, and then became head of indirect tax at Eversheds.He has been involved in the development of VAT legislation and policy over many years, and regularly serves on working parties established by HMRC. He was a member of the Office of Tax Simplification’s consultative committee for their review of VAT in 2017, and in 2018-19 of HMRC’s external stakeholder group considering the proposed reverse charge for building work. Martin currently works with HMRC as...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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