Wheeled Sports 4 Hereford Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Decision date: 17 March 2011
Neutral citation: [2011] UKFTT 190 (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
This appeal concerned whether a concrete outdoor skate park built by a charity qualified as a “building” for VAT zero‑rating under item 2(a), group 5, schedule 8 VAT Act 1994. The Tribunal accepted the facility was a permanent constructed installation but found it lacked walls, a roof and a sense of enclosure and therefore was not a “building” for the statutory zero‑rating. The appeal was dismissed and the construction was held to be standard‑rated.
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
The Tribunal’s ratio is that the statutory term “building” for the VAT zero‑rating requires features of enclosure (such as walls or a roof); a permanent constructed facility that lacks those elements and a sense of enclosure does not qualify as a “building” and so does not attract the zero‑rating.
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 observed sympathetically that modern charitable capital projects may fall within charitable objectives yet fail narrowly drawn statutory descriptions; it also noted that a covered facility serving the same charitable purpose might be treated differently for VAT purposes.