VAT Treatment of Sightseeing Passes: Go City Ltd Case Ruling and Implications

• The case of Go City Ltd involved the VAT treatment of sightseeing passes
• The passes were sold at a lower price than usual admittance at attractions
• HMRC initially accepted them as face value vouchers but later changed their view
• The difference in VAT treatment is based on whether the pass is single-purpose or multi-purpose
• Go City Ltd argued that the passes were multi-purpose vouchers and output tax was only due when redeemed
• HMRC contended that the passes were tickets and output tax was due upfront
• The appeal was allowed, with the passes being considered multi-purpose vouchers and outside the scope of VAT
• Recent changes have altered the UK rules for face value vouchers, which can be single or multi-purpose.

Source: deeksvat.co.uk

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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