VAT Treatment of Sports Nutrition Bars: First-tier Tribunal Decision

• DuelFuel Nutrition Limited makes twin packs of sports nutrition bars
• The products are marketed as a flapjack and a brownie or cake slice
• The First-tier Tribunal ruled that neither of the products qualified for zero-rating as cakes
• HMRC ruled that DuelFuel should charge VAT at the standard rate on its products
• The FTT conducted a review of the products’ ingredients, taste and texture, packaging and marketing, and circumstances of consumption
• The FTT concluded that the products were not cakes and could not be zero-rated as cakes
• The FTT then considered whether the products were confectionery
• The FTT accepted HMRC’s argument that the products were confectionery
• The products are therefore subject to VAT at 20%

Source: taxscape.deloitte.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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