In W Steynor v HMRC [2016] UKFTT 647 (20 September 2016) the FTT found that works carried out on a building purchased at a time when it was already habitable did not qualify under VATA 1994 s 35.
Mr Steynor had acquired three barns which had been undergoing a conversion into residential accommodation. He had himself continued the works until the issue of a completion certificate.
The issue was whether Mr Steynor had carried out a residential conversion for the purpose of VATA 1994 s 35. The FTT pointed out that the ‘stumbling block’ in s 35 was that the works carried out by the claimant must ‘consist’ in a residential conversion. The test was not satisfied by reference to his works taken together with those undertaken by others; it was satisfied only by reference to the works undertaken by the claimant. Mr Steynor’s works had started after...
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