Zipvit Ltd v Revenue and Customs Comrs

Subject Matter

REVENUE — Value added tax — Deductibility of input tax — Taxpayer using postal services on which VAT not charged — Subsequent ruling of Court of Justice establishing that such services should have been subject to VAT — Taxpayer’s consequent claim for input tax refused — Whether VAT due or paid — Whether revenue should have exercised discretion to allow taxpayer’s claim in absence of VAT invoice — Council Directive 2006/112/EC, art 168(a)

[2016] UKUT 294 (TCC); [2016] STC 1782, UT

REVENUE — Value added tax — Deductibility of input tax — Supplies of services to VAT-registered trader wrongly assumed by parties to have been exempt from VAT — Price paid by trader said to be exclusive of VAT and invoices stating supplies exempt — Court of Justice ruling subsequently establishing that supplies properly chargeable to VAT — Whether taxpayer entitled to recover as input tax credit tax element of consideration paid for supplies — Whether invoices meeting requirement to contain details of VAT rate applied — Whether price paid by trader to be treated as including VAT — Whether “VAT due or paid” — Value Added Tax Act 1994 (c 23), s 19(2) — Council Directive 2006/112/EC, arts 73, 78(a), 168(a), 178, 226

[2018] EWCA Civ 1515; [2018] 1 WLR 5729; [2018] STC 1502; [2018] WLR (D) 404, CA

REVENUE — Value added tax — Deductibility of input tax — Reference to Court of Justice for preliminary ruling

[2020] UKSC 15; [2020] 3 All ER 1017; [2020] STC 865; Case details, SC(E)

REVENUE — Value added tax — Deductibility of input tax — Supplies of services to taxpayer trader wrongly assumed by parties to be VAT exempt — Consequently invoices issued did not refer to VAT — Contracts providing that taxpayer should bear cost in event that VAT was due — Actions by supplier and Revenue to recover unpaid VAT time-barred — Whether VAT “due or paid” and therefore deductible — Council Directive 2006/112/EC, art 168(a)

(Case C-156/20); EU:C:2022:2; EU:C:2021:558; [2022] 1 WLR 2637; [2022] STC 198; [2022] WLR(D) 24, ECJ

REVENUE — Value added tax — Deductibility of input tax — Supplies of services to VAT-registered trader assumed by parties to be exempt from VAT — Price paid by trader said to be exclusive of VAT and invoices stating supplies exempt — Supplies in fact properly chargeable to VAT — Limitation period expiring for supplier to recover mistakenly unpaid VAT from trader — Whether trader entitled to deduct as input tax VAT “due” or deemed to have been “paid” in respect of supplies — Value Added Tax Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/2518), reg 29(2) — Council Directive 2006/112/EC, art 168(a)

[2022] UKSC 12; [2022] 1 WLR 2670; [2022] 4 All ER 607; [2022] STC 829, SC(E)

EUROPEAN UNION — Reference for a preliminary ruling — Common system of value added tax VAT — Directive 2006/112/EC — Article 168 — Right of deduction — Supply of postal services mistakenly exempted — VAT deemed to be included in the commercial price of the supply for the purpose of exercising the right of deduction — Not included — Concept of VAT 'due or paid'

(Case C-156/20); EU:C:2022:2; EU:C:2021:558; [2022] 1 WLR 2637; [2022] STC 198; [2022] WLR(D) 24, ECJ

Appellate History

Commentary

UK Supreme Court blog
New Judgment: Zipvit Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2020] UKSC 15 Case comment

RPC Perspectives
V@ update - June 2022 Case comment