In Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council v HMRC (TC02554 – 4 March) a borough council operated a crematorium. It allowed mourners to place memorials including urns for a ten-year period (which was renewable on payment of a further fee). HMRC issued a ruling that it was required to account for VAT on these supplies. The council appealed contending that it was granting a licence to occupy land which was exempt from VAT. The First-tier Tribunal accepted this contention holding that most of the memorials comprised a ‘letting of immovable property’. (However plastic plaques which were attached to stakes in a rose garden did not qualify for exemption.)
Why it matters: The First-tier Tribunal accepted the council’s contention that in most of the situations which were the subject of this case it...
