Market leading insight for tax experts
View online issue

VAT on food: conflicting confections and deemed delicacies

The Upper Tribunal in Innovative Bites has provided welcome clarity on a contentious point of statutory construction, writes Max Schofield (Devereux Chambers).

The late great Tommy Cooper once joked: ‘I had a dream last night I was eating a ten-pound marshmallow. I woke up this morning and the pillow was gone!’. Albeit not 10lbs the appeal in HMRC v Innovative Bites Ltd [2024] UKUT 95 (TCC) concerned the VAT treatment of large ‘Mega Marshmallows’. This judgment sits within a somewhat febrile landscape concerning VAT and confectionery alongside other recent first instance cases including DuelFuel Nutrition Ltd [2024] UKFTT 104 (TC) and WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc [2024] UKFTT 181 (TC).

Background

The taxpayer Innovative Bites (‘IB’) is a wholesaler of American food items including large marshmallows associated with roasting and ‘s’mores’. The Mega Marshmallows are about twice the size of regular marshmallows. The...

If you or your firm subscribes to Taxjournal.com, please click the login box below:

If you do not subscribe but are a registered user, please enter your details in the following boxes:

Alternatively, you can register free of charge to read a limited amount of subscriber content per month.
Once you have registered, you will receive an email directing you back to read this article in full.
Please reach out to customer services at +44 (0) 330 161 1234 or 'customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk' for further assistance.
EDITOR'S PICKstar
Top