VAT and the DFE

Hi We have some grant awards from the DFE and we are using some suppliers to undertake these services. However we are having difficulty confirming with the suppliers on how to treat their services. We have read that the services constitute a non taxable supply but the supplier is disputing that. Can someone help?

Hi Antoinette Le Peuple,
Please see the guidance below where education/vocational training is provided on government schemes;
Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
Thank you. 

So your organisation has received some grant funding and you are contracting with a third party to provide some sort of service and you are paying for that service using the grant funding. You need to be specific as to what these services are that you are buying in.....are the services construction/property related, are they connected to the supplies of education? Taking the lead from HMRC Admin 25's link and assuming the DFE funding is for something education related, if you are paying a third party to provide some sort of vocational training or similar then it could be that the suppliers have to treat their supply to you as "exempt", see section 13 of the link to Notice 701/30 which looks at government funded training schemes....if this is what is happening in your situation then refer the supplier to the above Notice/section 13.