Commissioners of Customs and Excise v Century Life Plc: CA 19 Dec 2000

The Directive required member states to exempt from VAT, services involving the provision of insurance, and for intermediaries. Following the Regulator’s involvement, the principal company had to arrange for the checking of existing policies, and the implementation of compensation arrangements, and sub-contracted it to the taxpayer. Had the principal privided the services itself, it would have had exemption. They claimed exemption. The Act did not reflect, it was claimed, the Directive it implemented.
Held: The Act did implement the Directive correctly, albeit in more complicated language. The activity was exempt. Appeal dismissed.

The President Lord Justice Kennedy And Mr Justice Jacob
[2000] EWCA Civ 336, [2001] STC 38
Bailii
VAT Act 1994 S9 G2 P4, Sixth Directive (77/388/EEC) 13B
England and Wales
Citing:
CitedBeloit Technologies Inc and Another v Valmet Paper Machinery Inc and Another ChD 12-May-1995
The judge urged that the Convention should be incorporated into English law without rephrasing difficult clauses: ‘it helps no-one for the Parliamentary draftsman to re-write matter in a treaty or convention (or EU directive for that matter) which . .
MentionedBritish Sugar Plc v James Roberston and Sons ChD 17-Feb-1996
The question was raised on whether, given its derivation from article 5 of the trade mark directive, non-trade mark use could be caught by sections 10(1) to (3).
Held: There was no trade mark infringement by the use of a common laudatory word. . .
MentionedPhilips Electronics Nv v Remington Consumer Products Ltd ChD 2-Feb-1998
It was a misuse of Trade Mark legislation to seek permanently to prevent the use of a substantial engineering design idea which was underlying the mark for which protection was sought. The judge revocation of the registration of the claimant’s mark . .
CitedCard Protection Plan Ltd v Commissioners of Customs and Excise ECJ 25-Feb-1999
A company procuring insurance purchases for credit card protection was as exempt from VAT as was the insurer. A provision which restricted the ability to claim such exemption to those registered as insurers under national was invalid under European . .
CitedStichting Uitvoering Financiele Acties v Staatssecretaris Van Financien (Judgment) ECJ 15-Jun-1989
For VAT the general rule is that a turnover tax is levied on all services supplied for consideration by a taxable person. Exemptions are to be strictly construed in the VAT legislation. . .

Cited by:
CitedYeda Research and Development Co Ltd v Rhone-Poulenc Rorer International Holdings Inc and others CA 31-Jul-2006
The claimants sought to amend their claim which had previously been on the basis of a joint ownership, to one of sole ownership.
Held: The application for the amendment being made more han two years after the grant, the amendment could not be . .
CitedHiggs v Regina CACD 24-Jun-2008
The defendant appealed against his conviction under the section. He ran a business fitting modifying chips to games consoles allowing them to play non-certificated games CDs.
Held: The appeal was allowed. It was not suggested that the use of a . .
MentionedFootball Dataco Ltd and Others v Yahoo! UK Ltd and Others CA 9-Dec-2010
The claimants asserted ownership of copyright in football fixture lists as a database right. The defendant denied that they attracted any such right. The judge had found that significant skill and labour went into the preparation of the list.
VAT, European

Updated: 12 November 2021; Ref: scu.147369