Mr. Niall Cody:

With the sector. There was a study for which we engaged an expert. There is a long history to this process. Back when VAT was introduced food was zero rated and there were no food supplements. As the market developed over the years, concessional treatment was given to have certain, basic food supplements as zero rated. With every year, new variants came to light and people looked for rulings for products that clearly did not qualify under the legislation. We carried out a review and engaged an expert. We got an expert report on the matter and the issue was subjected to consideration in the context of policy changes. For a change to take place it would require a legislative change but that became problematic because there is no standard legal definition of what is a food supplement. There are new products coming on the market with every passing month. Products that are licensed by the Health Products Regulatory Authority are zero rated. This would include items such as folic acid.

We would have looked at the idea of whether a legislative provision could be put in that relied on regulation by health agencies, one that would form a basis for clear rules in the absence of the alternative. As a result of different approaches, with some people applying VAT while others were not applying VAT, we issued our guidance in December. It comes into effect on 1 March 2019.