Tax takeaway

The recent change in the VAT rate has given me a good excuse to check that my clients are properly calculating their VAT liabilities – thank you Darling.

However one issue has got me puzzled.

I have a client who operates a sandwich bar. There are a couple of tables inside the shop and some outdoors. My client is happy about the distinction between takeaways (zero rated) and eat-ins (standard rated) and the various rules concerning heated food.

However it is not uncommon for customers to order a takeaway but to eat indoors and (less often) vice versa. It is not usually a case of customers trying it on – rather a case of someone intending to take a sandwich back to the office but running into a friend and deciding to stay or a customer preferring the disposal packaging just so he/she can...