The Upper Tribunal has now ruled that the FTT had incorrectly considered the existence of competition from the supplier’s perspective (i.e. the provision of facilities hedged by statutory constraints which no private provider could realistically operate under) and should have considered it from the perspective of the consumer. It has therefore allowed HMRC’s appeal and remitted the case to the FTT to consider whether actual or potential distortion of competition means that the operation of sports facilities is within the scope of VAT in Northern Ireland, as well as in England and Wales.
Source Deloitte
