Milking parlours and bulk tanks are eligible for VAT reclaim once there has been some degree of construction or extension work carried out during installation.
That is according to Milk Quality Ireland, after it sent a delegation to meet with senior officials in Revenue on the issue of confusion around VAT reclaim eligibility for farm investment items.
The delegation was led by the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society’s (ICOS) dairy chair and chair of Milk Quality Ireland Eamonn McEnteggart.
Milk Quality Ireland stated that there remains uncertainty among farmers and the sellers of milking parlours as to the VAT reclaim eligibility of milking machines.
“We held a useful exchange with Revenue and agreed to make a follow-up submission on the treatment of automatic cluster removers [ACRs], as they are an integral part of modern milking machines and it makes no sense to treat them separately,” McEnteggart said.
“We received assurances from Revenue that VAT refunds are eligible for milking parlour and bulk milk tank installations, whether it’s a new or existing building, as long as construction, extension, alteration or reconstruction work has been carried out.
Uncertainty
“There still is a lot of uncertainty and confusion among farmers and milking machine dealerships regarding VAT refunds.
“It is essential that farmers continue to receive and avail of the supports required to upgrade and modernise their farming enterprises and to make them more efficient and productive for the current and next generation.”
McEnteggart said that the availability of VAT refunds often determines whether or not a farm investment project goes ahead.