VAT on Enforcement

Value Added Tax at 20% applies to enforcement fees charged by private enforcement agents: specifically, fees under High Court writs of control and CRAR. VAT does not apply to County Court warrant fees (collected by civil servant bailiffs) or council tax recovery (where local authorities recover VAT under section 33 of the VAT Act 1994).

In practice

When calculating the total cost of High Court enforcement, VAT at 20% must be added to the compliance, enforcement, and sale fees. For a debt of £1,500 enforced by writ of control, the compliance fee would be £79 plus £15.80 VAT, totalling £94.80. This distinction makes County Court enforcement marginally cheaper for small debts, though the higher recovery rates of High Court enforcement typically offset the VAT cost.