TAMS costings need urgent review after Revenue reclaim guidelines – Carberry

The Department of Agriculture needs to urgently review its TAMS costings following updated guidelines on VAT 58 reclaims published by the Revenue Commissioners this week, Nina Carberry, a Fine Gael MEP candidate for Midlands North West has said.

On Tuesday, Revenue clarified a number of items which are, and are not, eligible for a VAT reclaim by non-VAT registered farmers.

Carberry said: “I know from speaking to farmers across the Midlands North West the uncertainty that has been created around VAT reclaims on important farm investments. Farmers investing in items that improve animal welfare, labour efficiency, and environmental action should be supported.

“Revenue have now clarified that a number of items that support these objectives are not eligible for a refund. However, many of them are eligible under the TAMS scheme, albeit with reference costs that appear to be out of line with the actual cost of the items.

“Take automatic calf feeders for example. A four-station computerised calf feeder has a reference cost of €13,680 excluding VAT under TAMS while the true cost from widely quoted prices is closer to €18,500 excluding VAT. Farmers will now not only find themselves paying a significant VAT bill but the grant aid is falling well short of the true cost of the investment.

“The Department of Agriculture could soften the blow for farmers by reviewing the reference costs under TAMS and bringing them in line with the reality for farmers on the ground. Almost all of the tranche 1 applications have been processed and tranche 2 processing is well advanced so the Department has access to verifiable receipts from farmers to compare against current reference costs.

“We should not be deterring farmers from investing in their businesses to make them more efficient and sustainable. This review needs to take place urgently,” Carberry concluded.