Readers’ forum: Are sales of whisky eligible for margin scheme?

I have a client who owns a cash rich limited company and he intends to purchase investment bottles of whisky on the basis that they will increase in value with the passing of time and produce a better return when sold than interest earned on a deposit account with a bank.

The client’s company is VAT registered and fully taxable and my question is whether his new activity will be eligible for the VAT margin scheme? If so are there any special rules that he must follow? I understand that the global accounting scheme might also be relevant but am not sure if this is correct?

As a separate suggestion would it make more sense for the company to lend his wife money to invest in the whisky; she pays the company a commercial rate of interest; her turnover will be less than £85 000 so the...