Event met the charitable objectives

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society – a registered charity and a charitable company limited by guarantee – organises the annual Great Yorkshire Show which is held for three days in mid-July. The society claimed that the show’s key objectives were to raise funds for the society and to serve as an educational event about the latest developments in farming. The daily attendance could be up to 35 000 people.

Admission fees for 2016 and 2017 were treated as standard rated but the taxpayer submitted a voluntary disclosure in April 2020 for overpaid output tax on the basis that the income qualified for exemption as a fundraising event organised by a charity.

HMRC refused the claim.

The legislation at VATA 1994 Sch 9 Group 12 item 1 requires an event to pass three conditions for the exemption to apply:

• It must be organised by a charity for a charitable purpose....