Solicitors’ VAT

In his reply to the Readers’ Forum query VAT rate changes Neil Warren correctly identifies typical solicitors’ services as not being supplies of continuous services and so the basic tax point applies.

However Neil has not mentioned in either of his first two examples that if the work has not been carried out for an agreed fee so that a fee has to be negotiated with the client before the invoice is raised then arguably the fee is not ascertained at the time of completion of the service.

Unfortunately there is no certainty nowadays that time recorded equals invoice issued.

In that case there is an automatic extension of the 14-day period (as referred to by Neil in his examples) to three months.

Brian Slater head of commercial tax Finers Stephens Innocent LLP solicitors

Neil Warren replies

Brian is quite...