adamr7747

Hi All, I have a site with a gentle slope across it & my (to-be) house in the middle. When it's wet the water runs onto and across the site from neighbouring fields. The groundwater level is also generally only just below the ground level. So I am looking to divert away the flow on the surface & in the ground. I've read the page on pavingexpert on fin drains and think it looks like exactly what I need - does surface & subsurface drainage. Doesn't require messing with lots of aggregate and minimises the amount of digging. The only catch is I can't really find anywhere that sells them for domestic use. It's all about roads. Is that because I'm missing something which makes them obviously inappropriate? Or does anyone know a good source for them online? Or should I be looking somewhere else? Thanks, Adam

Yes, it's very annoying. Andrew suggested just assuming it's 0 rated & getting contractors to invoice as such. When I submit the claim we add a letter explaining the situation and ask for a grace period if HMRC decide it's actually a conversion & then go back to the contractors & ask them to re-invoice & then re-submit the claim...

To round this off - Andrew called me back today to talk about this . It seems there's no clear answer as it'll be down to the HMRC interpretation (but he suggested a practical way forward to manage the risk). Adam

It's been a couple of weeks

Thanks all. I have talked to Andrew but after I sent through the details he's not replying any more - making me think it must be a tricky case . I've phoned HMRC (which I assume is what you mean by VAT helpline, Temp), a couple of times but they are refusing to tell me whether they will consider it a new build or conversion . Adam

Hi All, We're about to start the building work on my self-build and am trying to get to the bottom of whether it will be classes new-build or conversion (so I know what VAT rate to ask my builders to charge me & hence ensure my eventual claim for all the VAT, including materials, is valid). My main puzzle is that the planning permission explicitly says "this is a new build", but I will be retaining some derelict walls on the site, which the HMRC guidance suggests means "conversion". In my first conversation with HMRC they said "new build". In the second they said "can't tell you until you submit you claim". The trouble is by the time I submit the claim I can't retrospectively ask all the contractors to change their billing if I've got the classification wrong. The building will be something like this (though currently planned to have some kind of flashing taking water to the outside of the stone walls). The second potential conundrum is that my planning permission includes a separate structure (a conversion) on the same site which will eventually be a holiday let. Clearly that won't quality for the VAT reclaim & we won't start it until the main house is complete, but does it affect the validity of my claim for the main house? Thanks a lot, Adam