United Biscuits (UK) Ltd v The Commissioners for HMRC

Decision date: 16 August 2023

Neutral citation: [2023] UKFTT 864 (TC)

Overall AI summary confidence: high

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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

This appeal concerned whether United Biscuits' "Blissfuls" biscuit (a biscuit cup with a chocolate-hazelnut layer and a smaller biscuit lid) fell within the Excepted Item for goods "partly covered with chocolate" in VATA Sch.8 Group 1. The Tribunal applied ordinary meanings, rejected the appellant's proposed filling/layer legal distinction, and found that the biscuit is partly covered by chocolate for the purposes of the provision. The appeal was dismissed.

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: medium

The Tribunal held that "partly covered" should be given its ordinary meaning and is satisfied where any part of the biscuit surface has a layer of chocolate "to some extent." A layer of chocolate can constitute part of a covering even if it is beneath a biscuit lid or partly contained within the biscuit; the court refused to import additional statutory categories (such as a "filling" versus "covering" or a "first constituent part") or a bite-test into the statutory text.

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 factors such as packaging, marketing, and analogies to sandwich biscuits were of limited assistance to statutory classification, and reiterated that these classification questions are fact-specific and are best resolved by practical, ordinary-meaning analysis rather than elaborate legal tests.

Warning

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