Upper Tribunal decision in the Greenisland FC VAT case

It is not easy to interpret the impact that the Upper Tribunal decision in HMRC v Greenisland FC (UKUT 440) will make on HMRC policy, on other tribunal decisions, or on decisions that charities themselves will make.  This alone appears to make this decision far from satisfactory.

The case relates to the zero rate relief for the construction of a new property for a charity to use for relevant charitable purposes.  However, the case was not so much about the relief, but about whether a penalty was due on the charity issuing a certificate for the relief.  Unlike the recent decision in Marlow Rowing Club, however, the charity did not accept that the relief was non-applicable.  The issue of whether a penalty ought to be imposed for issuing a certificate was therefore potentially defendable under two heads: that the relief applied in any event, and that the certificate was not issued carelessly by the trustees.  The charity would win the case if it succeeded in either point.  In the end, it succeeded in defending its conduct in issuing the certificate.

The tribunal was asked to consider two bases for the relief applying, and the third basis that the certificate was issued reasonably. The First tier Tribunal had accepted all three bases.  However, as the charity in this case charged subscriptions to its members and hire fees to members of the community that were not its members, it is difficult to see how the tribunal could accept that the use of the building would be ‘non-business’.  The Upper Tribunal excoriated the First tier Tribunal for its woolly logic in reaching this conclusion.  One can only agree with that.

This then left the question whether the ‘village hall’ condition applied, in consonance with the Upper Tribunal decision in Caithness RFCWhilst the Upper Tribunal was almost as dismissive of the First tier on this point, I detect a small difference.  It appeared to say that the tribunal had not asked itself the correct questions and therefore failed to apply the correct test.  But that is not the same as saying that the charity would have failed the test had these been properly asked.  Although the Upper Tribunal oddly stated that it found for HMRC on this point, I believe it ought (had it been necessary) to have remitted it for re-hearing on the basis of incorrect procedure.

That it did not do so was probably because it accepted the charity’s final defence, namely that the certificate was issued after careful and reasonable consideration by the trustees.

HMRC could not persuade the Upper Tribunal to interfere with the lower tribunal’s judgemental decision, since that was the fact-finding tribunal, and it had trusted the testimony of the club.  It is clear to me that there was some distaste on the Upper Tribunal’s part for HMRC’s attempt to impugn the probity of the charity’s witness.  Despite the Upper Tribunal having lacerated the First tier’s efforts on the legal issues, it was unprepared to go as far as to overturn it on the issue of the charity’s conduct.

One of the reasons for this can also be found in HMRC’s change of position. Whereas its guidance says that the decision of trustees will be accepted where either it seeks professional advice or a determination from HMRC, the argument in the court was that all charity trustees must seek an HMRC determination. It is not clear whether this was advanced merely to win a case or is now HMRC policy.  If so, they need to change their guidance.  However, it is an approach to be deplored rather than welcomed. HMRC decisions on such cases are extremely partisan, and this threatens to turn VAT into a non-self-assessing tax.  The implications of that are very far reaching.  One also wonders why HMRC thinks it can resource such a commitment in this day and age.

The fact (accepted by both tribunals) was that the charity had contacted its advisers who had given oral advice that the building would be zero rated.  That oral advice was considered to be sufficient.  That nobody was sure that the advisers had explained on what they based their view was beside the point.

When considering how this contrasts with the outcome of the First tier decision in Marlow Rowing Club one is struck by the fact that the latter charity had obtained a detailed opinion from both a QC and its (substantial) external accountants, which had confirmed possible relief but subject to developments in case law.  Yet, issuing a certificate in this case was deemed ‘careless’ despite it falling into line with the case law of the period (only overturned by the Court of Appeal later).  That Greenisland could rely on an undocumented and unexplained oral decision by advisers, contrasts very unhappily with Marlow.

That said, it seems to me that Greenisland was so close to the precedent of Caithness that it ought to be regarded as not being careless on that basis.  And, in my estimation, it is likely that it also qualifies for the relief on the Caithness precedent for village hall use in any event.

One can expect HMRC either to appeal or to make mileage out of this decision, in ways that are far from ideal.

Graham Elliott is Technical Adviser to the Charity Tax Group and Director of City & Cambridge Consultancy

Comments

  1. Verna says:

    Hi! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?

    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not
    seeing very good success. If you know of any please share.
    Thank you! You can read similar text here: Eco bij

  2. emt pendant says:

    To get to the underside of this question, we need to look at two necessary components: How sound travels, and what’s actually on the market in house.

  3. sugar defender says:

    sugar defender Finding Sugar Defender has been a game-changer for me, as I’ve constantly been vigilant regarding managing my blood sugar level levels.
    With this supplement, I really feel empowered to take charge of my wellness,
    and my latest medical examinations have actually reflected
    a considerable turn-around. Having a credible ally in my edge gives
    me with a complacency and reassurance, and I’m deeply happy for the extensive difference Sugar Protector has made in my well-being.

  4. Vavada Casino says:

    An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who was doing a little homework on this. And he in fact bought me dinner simply because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this topic here on your web page.

  5. pandora jewelry says:

    Excellent article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site. Keep up the great writing.

  6. 파라존 카지노 says:

    This is a topic that’s near to my heart… Thank you! Where are your contact details though?

  7. 라카지노 사이트 says:

    Spot on with this write-up, I actually feel this site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the info.

  8. latest trending news on twitter says:

    I seriously love your website.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m attempting to create my own personal site and would like to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Thanks!

  9. Fintech Revolution: How Businesses can Benefit from Embedded Finance says:

    An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I believe that you need to write more on this subject matter, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t discuss these issues. To the next! Many thanks!

  10. snaptik says:

    I blog often and I truly appreciate your information. The article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to bookmark your blog and keep checking for new details about once a week. I opted in for your RSS feed too.

  11. aluminium scaffolding for sale says:

    *There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up where the most important thing will be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Both boys and girls feel the impact of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

  12. telegram @seo_linkk says:

    Very good article. I certainly appreciate this website. Keep writing!

  13. ぬるぽ 元ネタ says:

    Wilbur Lutheran Church with Pastor Holly Gunby officiating.

  14. 競馬ラボ札幌記念 says:

    For large yield changes, convexity can be added to provide a quadratic or second-order approximation.

  15. エジプト 女神 一覧 says:

    Entry to fundamental infrastructure companies resembling water and sanitation, electricity, roads, telecommunications is one other aspect of vulnerability of communities and livelihoods to climate change.

  16. 修大クラブ サッカー says:

    The arcade consists of pointed arches carried on round columns with capitals.

  17. 氷解 進撃の巨人 says:

    For horizontal fan models, they are often positioned up against the wall and a hole minimize via the wall according to the fan to permit the expelled air to escape to the surface.

  18. ちむどんどん いつまで says:

    It was another example of how racing can improve the breed, as discs had been used successfully on the competition D-type.

  19. 美点 長所 違い says:

    3. Why is your company unique?

  20. ひまわりが says:

    The kind of strategy taken by private fairness managers ensures that there is no scope for underneath-performing or undeserving professionals to be a part of the management anymore.

  21. オリンピック 影響 経済 says:

    They are the one cease vacation spot so that you can make the most of their coaching facilities and services in an efficient manner.

  22. ニューヨーク 特徴 says:

    Well, this type of thinking is mostly shown by those who are looking for fast money.

  23. 腰髄とは says:

    Our eyes can see seen light in a spectrum starting from red via orange, yellow, inexperienced, blue and violet.

  24. 金融 仕事 一覧 says:

    There’s round a 143,000-kilometer distinction between the two coastline totals.

  25. 今日隕石見た says:

    Although blue chip companies aim to follow a consistent dividend policy, dividends are not guaranteed.

  26. caコンタクト says:

    They also offer flexibility in terms of design and shade options.

  27. ハイウエスト着圧レギンス says:

    In case you order a wah elsewhere, Ensure that they have it in stock as some sellers will not be as sincere about availability.

  28. 業務スーパー 株価 says:

    You can trade online in commodities.

  29. jalインターン says:

    Graveside providers will be held at 2 p.m.

  30. 保険 原点 says:

    Walk on the Wild Aspect A particular model of the present.

  31. 保育士求人おすすめ says:

    After breaking freed from the Emperor’s management, Revan and his pal and Sith apprentice, Darth Malak, created their very own Sith Empire using the historic Star Forge to wage struggle on the Republic, however Malak finally betrayed Revan and ordered his soldiers to hearth on his ship throughout a battle against the Jedi.

  32. らうたく 古文 意味 says:

    Badawi later tweeted that she mistakenly had tweeted an old photo.

  33. 公務員 スーツ 着ない says:

    Chrysler engineers used wind tunnel tests and even consulted with flight pioneer Orville Wright to design the Chrysler Airflow, launched in 1934 (proven right here).

  34. 証明証と証明書 says:

    Resolving to run away from his issues and start anew, he strikes to Seoul and plans to attend a new highschool.

  35. 兵庫 パスポート センター says:

    There are ways to avoid wasting money and nonetheless make sure the trip is comfy on your workers; a travel manager is accessible to plan all areas of your trip successfully and get you wonderful offers.

  36. ロック歌手が叫ぶ says:

    The synthesis of a mescaline analogue employs the rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective annulation of an aryl imine via a C-H activation.

  37. 遊戯と遊技の違い says:

    Porsche, however, chose a different spelling.S.

  38. 角上 株価 says:

    Burial Notes: Little one – Morford Throckmorton in Inexperienced Mount Cemetery.

  39. たわいない会話とは says:

    Those who want to succeed also have to try a variety of strategies of Commodity Market that might give the chance for greater profit.

  40. 臥す 古語 says:

    This gold and the bank’s other currency reserves have been beneath the management of the London board.

  41. ai 予想 なぜ 当たらない says:

    Apparently, it all had something to do with Seattle, WA being Nintendo鈥檚 base of operations in the US for so many years and Yamauchi wanting to show his appreciation.

  42. 911 株価 says:

    Lindsay, William R. Therapy of American Prisoners Throughout the Revolution.

  43. 有名 指揮者 日本人 says:

    The FA have power to drive clubs who’re involved in a reside game to play at a specified time and date.

  44. エルトン ジョン 名曲 says:

    There’s a demand for chilly storage along with warehouses to avoid wasting excess produce from getting spoiled.

  45. 保険 払込 says:

    There are many other things you need to look for.

  46. ブラジル ランキング says:

    So, the Flipkarts and Snapdeals of India haven’t any other choice however to head overseas for listing, say analysts.

  47. 韓国経済の今後はどうなりますか says:

    The very properly appeared after recreational areas, broad stretches of exotic seashore areas as well because the scenic locations have made it to be often referred to as the Goa of the East Coast.

  48. 率て 意味 古典 says:

    Coordination With Renewable Energy Grants: Business taxpayers also can apply for a grant instead of claiming either the energy investment tax credit or the renewable energy production tax credit for property placed in service in 2009 or 2010.

  49. 生命 保険 3000 万 円 says:

    In Darth Maul: Saboteur, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious sends Darth Maul to destroy InterGalactic Ore and Lommite Restricted.

  50. マーガリン アクセント says:

    This is because the underlying components influencing the neutral price of curiosity are believed to vary between countries.

  51. マッハ5 時速 says:

    For instance: Style houses nowadays favor warehouses that can restore their clothes by the use of hemming or replacing/adding buttons and so on slightly than sending them to the manufacturing facility for the purpose thereby saving money and time of the manufacturers.

  52. ドラクエ 女の子 says:

    They also put entire industries at risk.

  53. 保健師になるには主婦 says:

    SFO is the primary airport to provoke this inexperienced service with these climate kiosks; for the sake and hope of residing in better surroundings and expertise oriented world, let’s hope that different airports corresponding to Miami airport and others comply with quickly.

  54. ナット 回す方向 says:

    You can put multiple options into an e-mail but bear in mind receiver of emails does not like too many promotional mails.

  55. 門 書き順 変わった says:

    Irwin, Neil (May 29, 2019).

  56. 配当を実施する 英語 says:

    •Use your stockbroker’s platform and comply with the directions being set for you on how to buy your chosen stock.

  57. 産休手当 保険 says:

    Harder, Ben (16 June 2022).

  58. ハリーポッター 人物名 says:

    So left facet can be the send away, it would be my retrieve, it could be my long chunk attacks.

  59. driving instructors says:

    From 50 years experience, we have designed Australia’s most complete driver training program with a well respected and sought after
    teaching style.

  60. 金融 アロー 評判 says:

    Develop a timeline, at least eighteen months prematurely of the convention date.

  61. 配当 いくら says:

    No danger means no progress, but an excessive amount of risk means the potential exists for swift monetary disaster.

  62. ロシア 中国 北朝鮮 says:

    Household and couples therapy can help enhance communication, resolve conflicts, and strengthen bonds.

  63. キャンプ服装冬 says:

    Reduce two ears from brown felt scraps; make a small vertical slit in the bottom of each ear.

  64. sbi証券 残高証明書 pdf says:

    While this policy was meant to finish on the 8th of January 2021, it’s prolonged to the thirtieth of June 2021.

  65. 船荷証券の目的は says:

    This association is beneficial for a semi-aquatic snake, as it allows the anaconda to see and breathe effectively while its body stays mostly submerged in water.

  66. 中国 ワクチン 死亡 says:

    Can you just buy the design and act as your own general contractor?

  67. ほぼほぼほろびまして says:

    Robin Harding (13 February 2013).

  68. 太もも 細い says:

    These mounds of windblown sediment (often sand) occur incessantly alongside coasts and in deserts.

  69. 50代の平均投資額はいくらですか says:

    Candle stick patterns, believed to have been first developed by Japanese rice merchants, are these days widely utilized by technical analysts.

  70. 自動車保険 比較サイト おすすめ says:

    We’re not exaggerating. In 2015, the asset valuation consulting firm Brand Finance named Lego “The World’s Most Highly effective Model,” changing the car company Ferrari in the top spot.

  71. 福岡市東区事故情報 says:

    On a serious word, you might imagine to increase your income this time.

  72. 日本 総資産ランキング says:

    One great thing about today’s innovative technology and feature is that they have improved these light materials to provide unique and intricate lighting effects.

  73. 貶してくる 友達 says:

    When this happens, the stain “disappears.” When bleach oxidizes the ketchup in your T-shirt, the ketchup stops having the ability to absorb light.

  74. 心配が尽きない 病気 says:

    Becoming a member of formal classes, taking part in a whole lot of over the board chess, or becoming a member of an online club or class are all nice ways to earn expertise and match wits and expertise with players inside your range or are higher than you.

  75. 投資 失敗 芸能人 says:

    On July 14, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania also introduced that classes for the fall 2020 semester will likely be held online.

  76. あきる野市 週間天気 says:

    Others might also find it very expensive to maintain the property and increase its value as expected over the next several years.

  77. 東京 1時間 天気 says:

    Anthony John Roberts, Chairman, South Thames Coaching and Enterprise Council; Managing Director, Publish Workplace Counters.

  78. boston Eco-Friendly Cleaning Services says:

    Helpful content!

  79. 固定資産税 決め方 says:

    There are other financial savings choices besides a savings account.

  80. 하이오피주소 says:

    Whiskey Bar 하이오피주소

  81. 人気 番組 says:

    Faculty Efficiency Reports for the Bordentown Regional College District, New Jersey Department of Schooling.

  82. サーチファンド says:

    We visited Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame Cathedral, and a trendy art museum.

  83. 考えを 巡らせる 類語 says:

    Heim, Kristi. “Privacy considerations attached to RFID tags.” Seattle Occasions.

  84. ランニング 接地時間 says:

    The expanding Indian wealth administration industry is opening up many career opportunities for the younger.

  85. 北海 電力 株価 says:

    An intergovernmental group or worldwide governmental organization (IGO) is an entity created by treaty, involving two or extra nations, to work in good religion, on problems with widespread curiosity.

  86. サラブレッド 体高 says:

    Many units also embody GPS monitoring features to locate the cellphone and even activate “screaming” alarms that can be heard from the underside of a user’s laundry basket.

  87. 亀山 ナイター ゴルフ says:

    Turns out, vomit is pretty much the same shade for everybody, and equally repulsive.

Join the discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *