City of Portsmouth College v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 15 August 2025
Neutral citation: [2025] UKFTT 1015 (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
City of Portsmouth College appealed HMRC VAT assessments arguing that grants from the EFA/SFA/ESFA were not "consideration" for supplies of education or vocational training to students. The First-tier Tribunal, bound by an Upper Tribunal decision on the "Consideration Point", held for the College on that issue and allowed the appeals in part; one assessment for 04/16 had been withdrawn by HMRC and that part of the appeal was struck out.
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
Where funding is provided under non-negotiable, statutory or formulaic arrangements (including prohibitions on charging students and mechanisms such as advance allocation with retrospective reconciliation/claw‑back) and not by negotiation with or payment from the student, such funding may be characterised as funding rather than "consideration" for a supply of education or vocational training for VAT purposes.
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: low
No clear obiter dicta can safely be identified from the notes provided.
Warning
Some factual material in the chunk is repetitive and duplicated within the bundle.