Readers’ forum: Disaster project

We have a client who acts for a charity and supplies the charity with medical equipment. This will be used by the charity for their next disaster relief project as and when needed. The goods are stored at a warehouse in Manchester. The director had an email from the charity last week querying the VAT that has been charged on invoices for the last four years. The charity claims that the sales should all have been zero-rated.

Our view has always been that VAT must be charged because the goods are not going permanently out of the UK and are not stored in a bonded warehouse. Is this correct? Further surely the charity can claim the VAT back anyway by some route? If the charity is correct about the VAT is there scope to go back four years and claim a credit from HMRC which we...