Responding to The Treasury’ announcement confirmed in an email sent to the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, that the end date for the domestic VAT zero rate for vital PPE is 31st October, Dawood Pervez, Managing Director of Bestway Wholesale – the largest independent wholesaler to independent retailers across the UK – has called this a surprising, and potentially dangerous, move that will be of considerable concern both to retailers and to the general public:
“Right now there is a significant amount of PPE stock in the market as retailers and wholesalers have built up stocks in advance of Winter and increasing Covid-19 infections. A clear objective of the industry – and government – has been to ensure retailers and their teams all stay safe, and to keep PPE in strong evidence on shelves up and down the country in order to protect consumers and ensure there is no repeat of PPE shortages seen earlier in the year.
“An increase of 20% is a significant amount, and it is a surprising move if we all wish to keep safe and control the pandemic. There is little doubt that increases in price will slow demand and act as a barrier to buy PPE for some, at a time when many peoples’ income has been reduced due to the pandemic, and every penny in their shopping basket counts”.
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