03 January 2018 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
Sadly, HMRC has resisted naming the new VAT avoidance disclosure regime in a similar manner to the old regime, i.e. the VAT Avoidance Disclosure Regime (or VADR), which disappointingly removes the opportunity to refer to it as Luke Skywalker (or Son of VADR). However, the new (and somewhat inelegantly named) 'Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes for VAT and other indirect taxes', or ‘DASVOIT’, regime did come into force on 1 January 2018.
While your university will hopefully not need to disclose anything under the new rules, it is worth familiarising yourself with the rules to ensure that you don't inadvertently fall foul of them - we all know how easy it is for new legislation, and anti-avoidance legislation in particular, to have unintended consequences on perfectly innocent arrangements and transactions. For example, some of the listed schemes are not particularly uncommon arrangements (such as granting a major interest in a zero-rated building to a connected party in particular circumstances, leaseback arrangements etc.). In addition, you may need to re-notify HMRC under the new rules even if you had notified them under the old rules.
Penalties for failure to notify at the correct time are 15% of the VAT saving for listed schemes and £5,000 for hallmarked schemes.
HMRC has just updated VAT Notice 700/8: disclosure of VAT avoidance schemes which sets out the arrangements that are notifiable. Listed schemes are set out in section 4. There is also a decision chart for the hallmarks of avoidance for other arrangements in section 7, which also looks at one of the very important hallmarks which would hopefully not apply to universities, that of obtaining a tax advantage, as well as what it means for a tax advantage to be the main purpose of the scheme. Also note, however, that if you are knowingly party to a 'scheme' from which you don't benefit but another party does, you may still need to notify your involvement in the arrangements (but not if you are unwittingly party to a scheme).
When the ideas for the new regime were first floated by HMRC it was thought that it would really only be promoters of schemes who would need to notify the hallmarked schemes, and then provide their clients with a scheme number. But that is not the case - you may still need to notify hallmarked schemes for arrangements that have not had any involvement by advisers (if all the conditions apply).
