Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v HMRC

In Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 177 (27 February 2024) the Court of Appeal (CA) decided that the trust was not acting as a taxable person when it operated car parks at hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The CA found that the car parking facilities concerned were supplied in the context of activities in which the trust was engaged as a public authority and that HMRC had failed to demonstrate that if VAT was not charged it would lead to a significant distortion of competition.

Around 50 similar appeals by other NHS bodies were stayed behind the decision. The CA confirmed that the decision relates specifically to parking at hospitals and other healthcare facilities rather than parking on any other land own by an NHS body. The CA also confirmed that the decision applies to...