VATREVCHG12000 - Introduction: Background
You should check the other guidance available on GOV.UK from HMRC as Brexit updates to those pages are being prioritised before manuals.
The reverse charge procedure is a measure designed to counter some forms of criminal attack on the UK VAT system by means of fraud, such as Missing Trader fraud (see VATF23300).
The reverse charge procedure results in, essentially, a business-to-business (b2b) tax-neutral chain of transactions, with the seller no longer having to account for VAT, so it removes the opportunity to steal the VAT in b2b transactions within the UK (for an example see VATREVCHG21000). Supplies of relevant goods and services remain subject to the reverse charge until they are excepted from the procedure or are exported outside the UK.