Booking fee

The taxpayer company owned and operated exhibition venues. It treated the facility booking and transaction fees as consideration for standard-rated supplies.

The business later decided that booking fees charged on credit card and debit card payments on tickets were consideration for a supply of payment processing services making them exempt from VAT under VATA 1994 sch 9 group 5 item 1. HMRC refused claims for repayment of overpaid output tax.

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) allowed the taxpayer’s appeal.

The matter moved on to the Upper Tribunal which was concerned only with the supply issue.

The judge said the FTT had asked the correct question namely what service the taxpayer had supplied in return for the booking fee. It noted the customer was liable to the charge if he or she paid by card remotely or in person at the box office. The FTT concluded the...