All Answers Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 23 August 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKFTT 737 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
All Answers Ltd operated an online service selling academic work produced by third‑party Writers and retained most of the fee. HMRC assessed VAT; the FTT concluded, applying UT reasoning, that All Answers (not the Writers) supplied the academic work for VAT purposes because the intermediary bore the core obligations to deliver work of appropriate quality and time; the appeal is dismissed. Contract changes in Sept 2020 (copyright clauses and an express statement of a contract between Writer and Customer) did not change the commercial and economic reality.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
Where contractual terms and the commercial/economic reality show a party has assumed the core obligations to deliver a service to the customer, that party is to be treated as the supplier for VAT purposes; formal changes to IP clauses or labeling a relationship as directly between supplier and customer will not displace substance if the intermediary retains the core liabilities and operational control.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The tribunal indicated that contractual labels or inserted phrases asserting a direct contract or agency may be insufficient alone to create a separate supply if offer, acceptance and essential terms are not demonstrated, and that tribunals will disregard contractual terms inconsistent with commercial and economic reality.