Unhappy Halloween – VAT holiday for PPE ended 31st October

The Treasury has confirmed that the zero Vat rate arrangement for PPE, which includes items such as masks and gloves, ended on 31 October.

The move was been criticised by both wholesalers and retailers, who claim this is a potentially dangerous move that will be of considerable concern both to retailers and to the general public.

Although there is a significant amount of PPE stock in the market as retailers and wholesalers have built up stocks in advance of winter and increasing Covid-19 infections, the main objective has been to ensure retailers and their teams all stay safe, and to keep PPE in strong evidence on shelves in order to protect consumers and ensure there is no repeat of shortages seen earlier in the year.

Scrap the Vat

By scrapping the Vat holiday, resulting in a price increase of 20% is significant and is a surprising move from a government that says it wants to keep people safe and control the pandemic.

“There is little doubt that increases in price will slow demand and act as a barrier to buy PPE for some, at a time when many peoples’ income has been reduced due to the pandemic, and every penny in their shopping basket counts” said one wholesaler.