The First Tier Tribunal has decided that ‘healthy balls’ are to be treated as ‘snacks’ and thus subject to the standard VAT rate in the UK.
The case concerns the question if “Nouri Truffles” or “Nouri healthy balls” are to be classified as ‘snacks’ or as ‘foodstuff’. Snacks are subject to the standard VAT rate, whereas foodstuffs are subject to the VAT zero-rate in the UK.
The products are small balls made from dates, nuts and other natural ingredients with no added sugar. They are promoted as being vegan, gluten free and healthy but indulgent. At the time in question, they were produced in three flavours, matcha green tea, coconut and chia seeds and chocolate and hazelnuts.
After a long elaboration and many considerations, the First Tier Tribunal decides that the Nouri Truffles are snacks.
This is one of the great considerations: The products were originally called “truffles” and are now called “healthy balls”. With apologies to Shakespeare we observe that “a truffle by any other name would taste as sweet”, and the products do taste sweet, even if not very sweet.
Please read the full case, as it’s a really nice read.
Source FTT
Note: The case seems somewhat familiar to the Dutch case regarding ‘aphrodisiacs’, pills made from natural ingredients that supposedly had an erotic stimulating effect. The Dutch court decided that these pills could be treated a ‘foodstuffs’, and thus subject to the reducted VAT rate.
You can find the case HERE.
However, the Dutch tax authorities did not agree with this decision and asked preliminary questions to the European Court of Justice. The questions can be found HERE.
Apparently, the UK judge found that he did not have to wait for a decision of the ECJ case, as he found it sufficiently clear that in the UK case the ‘healthy balls’ were snacks.
