In Align Technology Switzerland GmbH & Anor v HMRC [2025] TC09499, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that orthodontic aligners were VAT-exempt dental prostheses.
Align Technology Switzerland GmbH (Align) supplied clear aligners under the brand ‘Invisalign’.
- Aligners are removable orthodontic appliances used by dentists to reposition a patient’s teeth to correct misalignment, improving the functionality of the patient’s bite.
- Each aligner is bespoke and is specially designed by Align for an individual patient, based on a scan of the patient’s mouth and following the treatment plan prescribed by the dentist.
- For VAT purposes, Align treated the supply of its aligners as Exempt supplies of dental prostheses. HMRC issued decisions that the aligners were standard-rated. Align Appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT).
The issue in the appeal was whether the Aligners were ‘dental prostheses’ within Items 2 and 2A of Group 7, Schedule 9, VATA 1994. These are:
- Item 2: the supply of any services consisting of the provision of medical care, or the supply of dental prostheses, by:
- A person registered in the dentists’ register.
- A person registered in the dental care professionals register established under section 36B of the Dentists Act 1984.
- Item 2A: the supply of any services or dental prostheses by a dental technician.
The FTT found that:
- The term ‘dental prostheses’ is not defined in UK legislation.
- Two out of the three specialist dentistry dictionaries consulted by the FTT included ‘orthodontic appliances’ in their definitions of ‘dental prostheses’.
- The two dictionaries that did so were more recently revised and were therefore more likely to represent the current view of doctors and dentists about the meaning of ‘dental protheses’.
- The aligners were considered to be ‘orthodontic appliances’ by HMRC and the taxpayers.
- The aligners, therefore, met the definition of ‘dental prostheses’.
The appeal was allowed.
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Health and welfare: VAT
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Align Technology Switzerland GmbH & Anor v HMRC [2025] TC09499