A consultation has now been launched looking at whether for-profit providers of Higher Education should be placed on the same footing as eligible bodies, such as universities, meaning they would be able to exempt their supplies of education from VAT.

At Budget 2012, the Government announced that they would consult on and review the VAT treatment of education, particularly at university degree level, to ensure that commercial bodies supplying courses similar to universities are treated fairly.

The consultation is open for comment until 5 December and the relevant paper can be found on the HMRC website www.hmrc.gov.uk