Which of the following is considered input VAT?

Input VAT refers to the value-added tax that a business pays on purchases of goods and services, which it can reclaim when filing its VAT returns. In the context of the given question, VAT paid on stock purchases by a retail business is indeed considered input VAT. This is because when a retail business buys stock (inventory) for resale, the VAT included in that purchase price is an expense that can be deducted from the VAT collected on sales (output VAT) to determine the net VAT owed to or from the tax authority.

The importance of reclaiming input VAT lies in ensuring that businesses are only taxed on the value they add through their operations rather than the full price of goods and services they purchase.

The other options do not qualify as input VAT. VAT on sales of national services is an example of output VAT collected from customers, not VAT paid on purchases. VAT charged on services rendered to customers is also classified as output VAT since it represents the VAT collected when selling services. Similarly, VAT that supermarkets receive from consumers is output VAT, which they need to account for in their VAT returns, not input VAT.