The court was asked whether services and goods supplied were to be treated as one composite supply or as two or more separate supplies for the purposes of the VAT legislation. The two supplies involved were differently rated.
Held: The proper approach was to see whether an element (catering) was significant in its own right or whether it was merely ancillary to the dominant part (transport). Keene J found that: ‘The evidence shows that it [the catering] constituted a very important element in its own right in what was being provided by the appellant. Its significance in these transactions went well beyond the point where it could be seen merely as a way of better enjoying the transport element… it constituted for customers an aim in itself. Not, of course, the sole aim but, given its prominence in the marketing literature, clearly a separate aim from the travel element.’
Judges:
Keene J
Citations:
[1999] EWHC Admin 853, [2000] STC 82, [2000] BVC 60
Links:
VAT
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.471760