Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. Will he give an indication as to when the guidance from Revenue will be available? I assume it will have the force of law behind it. The Revenue Commissioners provide guidance on a wide range of matters and it would be helpful to have it as soon as possible in order that we will have full clarity. We went through this issue in detail on Committee Stage, including looking at older Revenue documentation which referred to food supplements as being foods. It is important to note that some products, including those which are medicinal in nature, will continue to be zero rated. Equally, some products sold in these types of shop are subject to VAT at a rate of 23%. We do not want to have a rolling debate on this issue, but, as the Minister noted, we should avoid being too prescriptive in legislation. We need clear guidance from Revenue as quickly as possible and that guidance should have the full force of law.

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