S.I. 2026/987 zero-rates domestic electricity in Great Britain from 1 October 2026

What changed in detail

The instrument exists, and it was made before the entry saying it did not. The Value Added Tax (Supplies of Domestic Electricity) Order 2026, S.I. 2026 No. 987, was made by the Treasury on 7 September 2026 and laid before the House of Commons on 8 September 2026. It comes into force on 1 October 2026.

The Order inserts a new Group 24 into Schedule 8 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994, zero-rating supplies in England, Wales and Scotland of electricity for qualifying use, and makes consequential changes to Group 1 of Schedule 7A so Northern Ireland keeps the 5% reduced rate. The modifications apply to supplies made from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.

This corrects the earlier entry, which recorded status “proposed” and stated that no instrument had been found made or laid. In fact the Order had already been made five days, and laid four days, before that entry’s 12 September capture — it was a gap in what had been checked, not a gap in what HM Treasury had done.

What it means

Nothing about the rate itself changes: 0% for qualifying Great Britain electricity supplies from 1 October to 31 March, 5% unchanged in Northern Ireland. What changes is the citation — point to S.I. 2026/987 as the enacted instrument, not to the earlier “proposed” status. If a decision was being held pending confirmation that the SI existed, that confirmation is now available directly from legislation.gov.uk.