Exempt supply of football pitches or a standard-rated league management service?

The taxpayer organised competitive football and netball leagues. It claimed that 87.5% of fees received from participating teams was exempt from VAT on the basis that it offered the hire of a sporting facility under the regular lettings rules (VATA 1994 Sch 9 group 1 note 16). The remaining 12.5% related to the services of organising fixtures and providing referees and bibs for the matches.

The taxpayer submitted a claim for overpaid output tax up to October 2016. HMRC later assessed it to output tax on later returns covering periods up to October 2019. HMRC’s view was that the taxpayer was supplying a standard rated service of ‘organisation of football and netball leagues’.

The First-tier Tribunal decided there was no mixed supply because there were no composite elements that could be split. The taxpayer was supplying either exempt pitch hires or a standard rated league organisation service. The challenge was...