Isle of Wight NHS Trust v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 16 September 2025
Neutral citation: [2025] UKFTT 1114 (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 challenged HMRC's decision that locum supplies to Isle of Wight NHS Trust were not exempt under Item 5 (Group 7, Sch 9 VATA). The Tribunal held that Item 5, read in its ordinary meaning and statutory context, exempts the provision of a deputy who is a person registered in the register of medical practitioners and that two sample supplies (Dr BK and Dr SDR) were such deputies; the Trust's appeal on those transactions was allowed and VAT was found to have been incorrectly charged. Procedural evidence rulings excluded certain hearsay witness statements and non-public internal policy material.
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 ratio is that where Item 5 expressly exempts "the provision of a deputy for a person registered in the register of medical practitioners" that wording must be given its ordinary meaning and therefore covers the supply of a deputy who is a registered medical practitioner; a conforming interpretation to EU law should not be adopted where the domestic language is clear and would require rewriting the statute.
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 explanatory notes and explanatory memoranda are secondary aids and cannot displace clear statutory language, that non-public internal policy documents are generally inadmissible, and that the statutory concept of "deputy" is not limited to GP out-of-hours deputising or to provision of medical care narrowly construed.