In a surprise u-turn, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have judged against the Advocate General’s opinion and concluded that Bridge is not a sport after all for VAT purposes.
VAT Cases & News
Summaries of interesting VAT cases for the SME owner.
In Queen’s Club Limited v HMRC [2017] TC06119, the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) allowed full VAT recovery on refurbishments to a members only bar and restaurant, dismissing HMRCs view that the costs were directly linked to the exempt membership fees.
In Duncan Lichfield v HMRC [2017] TC06040, the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) clarified that where a planning condition contains a specific ‘occupation’ condition, this is synonymous with a prohibition on use restriction as envisaged by legislation.
In HMRC v Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Ltd [2017] C-164/16, the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) have issued a preliminary ruling, finding that the ‘Agility’ Personal Contract Plan (PCP) could be a supply of services and VAT may not payable at the outset in full.
In Brabners LLP v HMRC [2017] UKFTT TC06093, the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that the charge to clients of search fees by a law firm were not disbursements as they are part of the overall service of conveyancing. VAT should be charged.
In Mr & Mrs Kelly T/A Ludbrook Manor Partnership v HMRC [2017] UKUT 0326, the Upper Tribunal (UT) confirmed that a recharge of construction costs when the taxpayer’s changed their minds about who would run the business did not constitute a supply so no VAT could be recovered.
In M J Hickey Plant Hire And Contracts Ltd v HMRC [2017] UKUT 0308, the Upper Tribunal (UT) concluded that a consistent VAT error, where the last day of the quarter was always included in the next VAT return suffered the lower delayed tax penalties, not those calculated under normal rules.