In Barclays Service Corporation & another v HMRC [2024] 785 (TC) (29 August) the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) held that an overseas service company was not entitled to join a UK VAT group because it did not have a UK fixed establishment at the time group membership was applied for.
Barclays Service Corporation (BSC) made supplies of services to other members of the Barclays Corporate Group including members of a UK VAT group. In July 2017 a UK branch of BSC was registered with Companies House. In December 2017 an application was made to HMRC to treat BSC as a member of the UK VAT group. Had this application been successful the UK VAT group would have been spared to account for millions of pounds each year under the reverse charge.
HMRC rejected the application in March 2018 on two grounds:
