Unfortunate timing

Was there a single or a multiple supply?

The taxpayer was a secondhand car dealer. He took the view that if he agreed with a customer that he would obtain a fresh MOT certificate before the sale its cost should be treated as a disbursement in the operation of the margin scheme.

HMRC disagreed. They said because the supply represented the sale of a car with an MOT certificate there was a single rather than multiple supply. The taxpayer appealed.

The First-tier Tribunal accepted that the question of obtaining a new MOT certificate always took place before the deal was made and that its cost formed part of the overall price. However the judge said “in substance and reality” this comprised one supply or a principal supply and an ancillary one. The cost could not be regarded as a disbursement and it would be “wholly...