Hastings Insurance Services Ltd v HMRC

In Hastings Insurance Services Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 275 (TC) (3 March) the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) allowed the appellant’s appeal against HMRC’s decision to refuse its claim for the recovery of input tax relating to the periods from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022. The FTT found that during the disputed periods EC Directive 2006/112 Article 169(c) had direct effect and that the input tax in question was attributable to supplies made by the appellant to a customer established in Gibraltar (Advantage Insurance Company Ltd (‘Advantage’)).

Article 169(c) provides entitlement to recover VAT on costs attributable to supplies of certain supplies of services that are exempt from VAT if the services are supplied to a customer established outside the EU. It was common ground that Gibraltar was not an EU Member State for VAT purposes (see Hastings Insurance...