Eligibility for membership of VAT group

The Upper Tribunal considered several preliminary issues in relation to appeals by HSBC Bank plc and five global service companies (GSCs) against HMRC’s decision to remove the GSCs from the HSBC VAT group. This was on the basis that the GSCs had not been established or had a fixed establishment in the UK since at least 1 October 2013 so were no longer eligible to members of the group (VATA 1994 s 43A). Further the decisions were necessary for the protection of the revenue (s 43C).

On the first preliminary issue the tribunal said the terms ‘established’ or ‘fixed establishment’ in s 43A should be interpreted in line with EU and domestic case law.

It chose not to go any further on the matter saying it was ‘highly fact sensitive and better determined in the context of all the relevant circumstances in any given...