Morrisons Loses £17 Million VAT Case Over Hot Food, Court Rules Rotisserie Chickens Taxable

• Morrisons lost a UK High Court case against HMRC over VAT on rotisserie chickens, resulting in a £17 million VAT bill.
• The court ruled the chickens are taxable as hot food because they are sold above ambient temperature, kept hot, and packaged as hot products.
• The decision aligns with the 2012 “pasty tax” rules applying 20% VAT to hot takeaway food.
• The case highlights the complexity of UK VAT rules on food and may prompt supermarkets to review how they label, store, and package ready-to-eat items.
• The ruling could influence future VAT disputes and how similar products are treated by tax authorities.

Source: meridianglobalservices.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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