United Kingdom Tax Tribunal Clarifies VAT Treatment for Single Complex Supplies of Goods, Services

The United Kingdom First-Tier Tax Tribunal Dec. 11 issued a judgment in Case No. TC09725, clarifying the VAT treatment for single complex supplies of goods and services. The taxpayer, a VAT-registered company, provided a single complex service that matched customers with ghost writers to create personalized books. The taxpayer claimed a VAT exemption for the supplies of books, and was denied on the grounds that the predominant element of the service was standard-rated ghost-writing services. On appeal, the Tax Tribunal found that: 1) under the predominant element test for single complex services, the taxpayer had the burden of proving that ...