The following Direction is made by the Comptroller of Income Tax using powers given to him under Article 56(2) of the GST Law 2007 (as amended).
Sale of land to DIY housebuilders
The sale of land to a person eligible to apply for a refund of GST under the “Refund of GST: DIY dwelling” scheme (Article 51 of the Goods and Services Tax (Jersey) Law 2007), shall be relieved of a charge to GST subject to all of the following conditions:
- planning permission must have been granted prior to the date of sale for a dwelling or dwellings to be constructed on the land
- the purchaser of the land must have registered with GST, Income Tax Department, for the DIY Housebuilders scheme prior to the date of sale
- the purchaser must be eligible to a refund of GST under that scheme.
Notes
The DIY Housebuilders scheme is designed to place persons building their own home (or for members of their immediate family) on the same footing for GST as a commercial housebuilder.
The latter may register for GST and recover this tax on the costs of land and materials used in constructing dwellings. The final sale of the completed dwellings is zero rated for GST, so there is no tax ‘cost’ to those buying homes.
The legal framework does not currently permit those buying land on which to build their own home to include GST charged on the land in their refund claim under the scheme, which means DIY Housebuilders are not treated equally with commercial builders. This Direction rectifies this.
DIY Housebuilders will no longer have to pay GST on buying the land on which they build a home. Businesses that sell land in the circumstances above should treat the sale as if it were zero rated for GST, and must keep the following records to support this:
- a copy of the planning permission
- the name and address of the purchaser
- written confirmation from the purchaser that they have registered with GST, Income Tax Department, under the DIY Housebuilders scheme.
This Direction has effect from 1 March 2009.
Expiry date
Expiry date: None
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