Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union Loses VAT Exemption Case: Café Deemed a Bar

• The High Court refused permission for judicial review of an HMRC decision that a café run by a student union was a “bar” and ineligible for VAT exemption.
• The court treated the matter as a “rolled-up” hearing, considering both the arguability of the case and the merits of the arguments.
• The court granted permission for the decision to be cited.
• The student union argued that a “bar” is a place that primarily sells alcoholic drinks and either does not supply catering or mainly sells drinks.
• The court disagreed, finding that the café met the definition of a “bar” as a place where one can buy and drink alcoholic and other drinks, as well as food.
• The court rejected the argument that HMRC’s policy was irrational, finding that the café-bar was undertaking taxable business in the same way as other café-bars and bars in the vicinity.

Source: claritaxnews.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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