In Harley-Davidson Europe v HMRC [2017] UKFTT 873 (14 December 2017) the FTT found that the company was making distinct supplies to members of its owners’ club.
Harley-Davidson Europe (HDE) distributes in Europe motorcycles manufactured by its parent company in the US. It also operates Harley Owners Group (HOG) as a business unit. Owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and individuals sponsored by them may subscribe to HOG. They are generally referred to as ‘members’ of HOG.
The issue was the VAT treatment of supplies made by HDE to members of HOG in consideration for membership subscriptions. Those supplies included a magazine patches and pins maps access to HOG’s website etc. HMRC’s position was that HDE made a single standard rated supply of membership and that the range of benefits provided were the means by which the members enjoyed that membership. HDE contended that it made...
