In Premier Family Martial Arts LLP v HMRC [2020] UKFTT 1 (TC) (3 January 2020) the First-tier Tribunal held that kickboxing classes did not qualify for VAT relief under the exemption for private tuition.
The appellant (Premier) treated its kickboxing classes as exempt from VAT and hence had not registered. Following an enquiry HMRC raised an assessment on the basis that the classes were standard-rated and that Premier had a liability to register for VAT. Subsequent alternative dispute resolution could not resolve the difference in opinion so an appeal was brought to the FTT.
Both parties focused on the scope of exemption under EU law which covers ‘tuition given privately by teachers and covering school or university education’. It was common ground that Premier was providing tuition privately so the dispute centred on whether kickboxing could be said to fall within the meaning of ‘school education’....